Candy Canes and Bananas with Black Peels
by DarkraixCresselia
Summary: "Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not. And yet someone else shared his opinion and so was misfit; this was, surprisingly, a Who named Winnie Dorothy Whit." How did a Who come to dislike Christmas? That is this story...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

* * *

_Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve,  
There happened a story you must see to believe.  
Way up in the mountains, in the high range of Pontoos,  
Lay the small town of Whoville: the home of the Whos._

_Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot.  
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not.  
And yet someone else shared his opinion and so was misfit;  
This was, surprisingly, a Who named Winnie Dorothy Whit._

Winnie was indeed a Who, who didn't like Christmas as much as her fellow Whos. And this wasn't so much of a crime as it was a very rare, unnatural occurrence that most Whos, if not all, thought was the strangest thing since the day the Grinch first came to Whoville.

Winnie was sometimes considered strange by her Who peers of Whoville. She never "grew into her nose," and that was considered odd already. And her coming to hate Christmas, the most beloved holiday of Whos, caused her to become as much an outcast as the Grinch, whom she befriended as a child. She disappeared the day after Christmas, and for years was never heard from.

But tabloids said she was spotted up in Mt. Crumpit, once with the Grinch, who was a somewhat-urban legend himself. But she wasn't with him as prisoner; they looked almost like roommates.

But why would she be up in Mt. Crumpit with the most disliked creature the Whos knew? And how did she become like him, hating Christmas?

That is a story you must read to believe…and it's time you've begun…

* * *

Winnie didn't originally live in Whoville. When she was a young Who, she and her parents lived in a large city a long ways away from Whoville called New Who City. They celebrated Christmas in a less "outrageous" manner than those in the smaller village of Whos and the larger city they called home. They picked out and decorated a Christmas tree, baked a big Christmas dinner, and each exchanged one gift for each other on Christmas morning, which gave Winnie and her parents two gifts each. They weren't poor, but they weren't rich either; they simply didn't waste money.

Her aunt and uncle, and her two cousins as well, lived in New Who City, and her grandparents in Whoville. They always sent a card, wishing them a merry Christmas, and asked if they would ever visit Whoville and witness their Christmas festival: the Whobilation. Winnie's parents always declined, saying it was too far away, and money didn't grow on trees.

But her aunt disagreed. "It's only an hour's train ride away," She said one day, a week before Christmas. "And Robert and I could chip in a bit of money for tickets to Whoville. And Mum and Dad as well. Besides, it'll be good for Winnie, and you two as well, to have a nice Christmas vacation to a smaller town."

"Besides," Robert added. "I hear the Whobilation is something worth seeing once in a lifetime for Whos living outside of Whoville. Winnie will love it."

"And she hasn't seen Mum and Dad for so many years." Winnie's aunt, Angelina said.

After some more insistence, some from little Winnie herself, her parents, Rachel and Abraham, decided to do something that Christmas: visit Whoville.

With Robert and Angelina's help, they bought three train tickets, and on the evening before Christmas Eve, boarded a train for Whoville.

Winnie was jumping in her seat, eager for the train to take off. She was a darling girl, with red hair in two large twists on either side of her face, and gray eyes sparkling with innocence and glee. Brown freckles danced across her chubby cheeks and round nose. She was dressed in a green dress with red ruffles under her skirt and on her sleeves, and had a headband with a silver bow on top of her head. She had turned six years old just the previous month, and hadn't seen her grandparents for four years. So she was excited, to say the least.

"When's the train gonna go, Mama? When's the train gonna go, Papa" She asked repeatedly.

"It will go when it's ready, Winnie." Abraham chuckled, patting her head. "Practice patience."

Winnie knew the family motto by heart: practice patience, and things will come faster than you think. And when she found she was asking herself when something will happen, or urging something or someone to hurry up, she tried to remember to practice patience.

Finally, the train whistled loudly. Winnie covered her ears with a jump. Then, the train seemed to jump forward, pause, and finally roll out of the station. Squealing with joy, the young Who crawled to the window, sat up on her knees, and waved at the Whos on the station, giggling when they waved back.

"Winnie, sit down." Her mother urged her. "Or you may fall to the floor.

"Yes, Mama." Winnie nodded, sitting down next to Rachel, swinging her little legs over the edge of the seat, admiring her white socks and black Mary Janes. "Mama? When'll we get to Whoville?"

"In an hour, I'd wager." She said, checking her watch. "Which will be at about seven o'clock."

Winnie looked at her mother's watch, which was a minute past six o'clock. She didn't fully understand time yet, and so only knew that an hour was long. Sighing, she sat back and stared out the window, fascinated by the passing scenery. She found it interesting how trees that were closer to the train flew by in a blur, but the mountains in the distance barely moved at all. It was lightly snowing, yet she could barely see the flakes.

Christmas time was near, one of her favorite times of the year, next to her birthday and the first day of snow. She loved the snow, and doing snow-related activities at the park: making snowmen, having snowball fights with her kindergarten playmates, making snow angels, or simply walking in the snow with her parents. To her, winter was the most wonderful time of the year; plus, it housed one of her favorite holidays, which made it even better.

One hour, to adults, seemed fast, or at times like the snap of fingers. But to a child, it felt like a much longer time. When they hear it would take an hour to drive to a place, or an hour for a desert to bake, they would moan and mumble that it would take forever. And Winnie was no exception. All the way to Whoville, she asked her parents if they were there yet. Despite the family motto of practicing patience, her parents' patience was wearing thin. Abraham suggested Winnie take a nap to pass the time. Despite her insistence that she wasn't tired, she fell asleep in her mother's lap in due time.

It seemed like she barely closed her eyes when Rachel was shaking her awake. "Winnie, wake up," She said. "We're here."

"Where?" Winnie asked, rubbing her eyes. Then, she remembered why they were on the train; why she had been kicking her legs, pestering her parents, and napping for an hour's wait. She looked out the window, and saw the train had pulled into and stopped at a train station of another place. This place was much smaller than back at home, but was full of snow, Christmas decorations, and Whos of all ages and sizes.

"Hooray! We're in Whoville!" She jumped off of the seat and ran out the train, ignoring her parents' cries to stop. She jumped onto the platform, pushing past other leaving passengers, and gazed at the new place. Her gray eyes sparkled with joy, and she spun around to get a better view.

"You spin too much, and you'll get dizzy." An elderly voice said.

Stopping, Winnie looked to see two old Whos smiling down at her. "Hi." She said. "Who're you?"

"My name is Dorothy," The elderly woman said. "And this is my husband, Luka."

"What's your name, dear?" Luka asked.

"Winnie Dorothy Whit!" She heard her parents yell angrily. She spun around to see them approaching her quickly. "Don't ever run from us again! You could have been trampled or hurt!"

"Sorry, Mama and Papa." She pouted, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels.

"Thank goodness you caught her, Mum and Dad." Abraham sighed.

Dorothy crouched down to Winnie's eyelevel, smiling wider. "Remember us, Winnie? We're your grandma and grandpa."

Grinning widely with delight, she hugged her newly-discovered grandmother tightly. "Hi, Grandma! We came on a train!"

"We can see that," Her grandfather nodded. "Was it fun?"

"Yeah!" She nodded, turning to hug him. "It was fun, but it took foreeever to get here."

"Well, you're here now," Dorothy chuckled. "Welcome to Whoville. It's probably much smaller than what you're used to."

"It's not as busy or crowded." Rachel nodded.

"Wait 'till tomorrow," Luka sighed. "Then it's like a mini-New Who City."

"During the Whobilation?" Abraham asked.

"Precisely."

Abraham and Luka briefly left to pick up the luggage from the baggage car. "The car's this way." He led the group of five to a large car with a closed trunk and open roof. They put the luggage in the trunk of the car, and everyone piled in. "It won't take long to get home," Luka said, in the driver's seat. "We have a couple of guest rooms. So, just enjoy the scenery along the way."

All the way to her grandparents' house, which took twenty minutes, Winnie looked around with wide eyes, smiling ear-to-ear. "Winnie, don't turn your head so fast," Rachel cautioned. "You'll hurt your neck. We'll be here for a couple of days after Christmas, so you'll have plenty of time to explore."

"When you're old enough, you can move here if you'd like." Abraham added.

Winnie barely heard anything her parents said, but she did slow her head-turning down. The streets were filled with Whos shopping around and decorating poles and buildings, and chattering about the upcoming holiday. She waved at them, giggling when they waved back.

"Everyone here's friendly, huh?" Rachel smiled.

"Whos here'll say 'hello' to anyone, even a stranger." Dorothy said.

Winnie saw not only adults, but Who children her age and up, running up and down the sidewalks, laughing and talking with their friends. Some were just leaving Who school.

She blinked when she saw something peculiar: a Who child that looked about her age…or what looked like a Who child; he wore a school uniform like the other children, but had green skin, and darker green hair and fur on his entire body save for his face.

She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but he was gone by then. "Mama? I saw a green Who boy with green hair and fur."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "He may have been wearing green clothes—"

"No." Winnie shook her head. "His clothes weren't green. He was furry, like an animal."

"You're probably tired from the long journey." Abraham said.

"I am not!" She insisted.

"There _is_ a Who child like that, Abe," Luka said. "He was adopted by the spinster sisters, Rose and Clarnella. You may see them tomorrow, Winnie."

Winnie had been encouraged by her parents to make friends with children who "looked like they could use a friend." Because as they said, "No matter how old or young, everyone needs at least one friend." And she knew that kids who were deemed different were often picked on and friendless.

And she wondered if this particular Who child needed a friend.

* * *

**A/N I was able to watch the live-action Grinch movie earlier this month, and I really liked it. It added a lot to a Christmas cartoon/story I really enjoyed when I was little (and still do) including an interesting backstory for the title character, and a lot of funny moments, courtesy of Jim Carrey (who is now one of my favorite actors)**

**And as per "tradition," I came up with an OC for the movie (though she doesn't necessarily have to be tied to the live-action movie) I originally wasn't really planning on writing a Grinch fanfic, especially since Christmas is over, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. Plus, while I did post a pic of her on DeviantART, I also enjoy writing fanfics to tell the OCs stories (even if they're inserted into the canon movie...is that getting old?)**

**So, the idea of a Who also disliking Christmas probably isn't the most original idea, but it's not very common either, as far as I can tell. I think I can get away with that vague concept as long as I make the character both interesting and unique. And I think she's going to be very unique later on ;) I think I originally thought of the name Winnie because it started with W, like "Who," and I think it's a nice name. Her middle and surname was suggested by a person on DA by the name of NightWolf1159 (thanks very much for the suggestion, if you're reading this ;)) There haven't been other suggestions, and it's really grown on me; plus it was pretty easy for me to make the rhyme talking about her disliking Christmas and thus being a misfit :3**

**Speaking of rhymes, I definitely don't have the same imagination as the good doctor did when he wrote his stories, and the only poetry I can really do is rhymes...which seems to be what Dr. Seuss did. But I tried to make the aforementioned line sound like something he would write. A lot of the live-action movie, if you didn't know, added a lot of convincing rhymes to the story (I actually had to look up whether Whoville was on a snowflake in the original story) Also, the narrator for the story? That was Anthony Hopkins, aka the infamous Hannibal Lector, or Hannibal the Cannibal as I call him.**

**Also, if there happen to be any rhymes in this story, I didn't do them on purpose. But feel free to point out any if you find them; maybe I'll set up a counter for accidentally-rhyming sentences that could have potentially made even Dr. Seuss proud.**

**The title was hard to come up with for this fanfic, and while I do like it, it doesn't seem quite right. But unless I come up with something else later, it'll do. It might grow on me eventually (I wasn't too fond of "Toxic Wings" for my _A Bug's Life_ fanfic originally, but now I can't think of titling it anything else)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

* * *

Winnie woke up bright and early on Christmas Eve. At first, she didn't recognize where she was, and got nervous. But then she remembered she was visiting her grandparents in Whoville for Christmas and the Whobilation.

Smiling widely, she jumped out of bed and ran into the guest bedroom next door, where her parents were asleep. "Mama! Papa! Wake up! The Whob'lation's today!" She yelled, jumping onto the bed.

Groaning, Rachel propped herself up on one elbow, and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "Winnie," She yawned. "It's barely six o'clock in the morning. The Whobilation doesn't start until much later."

"Everyone else in town's probably still asleep." Abraham added, stretching his arms briefly.

"Oh…whoopsie." Winnie smiled sheepishly. She climbed off of the bed. "Sorry."

"Go bug your grandmother, scamp." Her father chuckled, pulling the covers back up. "She's probably getting up about now. She likes getting up early."

Nodding, Winnie trotted out of the guestroom, down the hall, and into the kitchen. It was small, but it had a stove/oven, two countertops, a sink, and a refrigerator all the same. Cabinets were on the wall, some with glass windows revealing cutlery and dishes inside.

The dining room was quite a bit bigger, with a large table surrounded by several chairs. A large window divided into three smaller ones was on the wall behind the table and chairs, revealing Whoville was still dark and quiet.

Winnie's grandmother, Dorothy, was standing at one countertop, wearing a red bathrobe with white trim, and using a small machine with a cup underneath. The small Who recognized the smell as coffee, which her father enjoyed drinking at breakfast.

"Winnie? What are you doing up?" Dorothy asked.

"I was excited about the Whob'lation, but Mama said it doesn't start yet." She explained.

"No, it starts much later. Most of Whoville isn't even awake yet."

"Papa said that too. He said you were awake though."

"I enjoy getting up early." Dorothy sighed, taking her steaming coffee cup out of the coffee machine. "There's something about the feeling of being awake while the rest of the world seems still asleep. Your grandfather, however, sleeps like a log." She winked, making Winnie laugh. "But he always wakes up to the sound of purpleberry pancakes."

"I like pancakes."

"Well, we'll have to make some for breakfast then, won't we?"

Winnie nodded eagerly. Rachel always made purpleberry pancakes every Sunday for breakfast, though she also made them on Christmas Eve and Day regardless if the day was Sunday or not. So she was eager to have pancakes courtesy of her grandmother.

After a while, with the help of her six-year-old granddaughter, Dorothy made plenty of pancakes for the entire family of five. As promised, Luka stumbled into the kitchen. "I smell purpleberry pancakes." He yawned.

"Hi, Grandpa!" Winnie greeted, teeth purple with purpleberry juice.

"Morning, Winnie," He smiled. "What're you doing up so early?"

"I'm really excited about the Whob'lation, but Mama and Papa say it's too early for it." She blushed.

"That's right, it's not until much later. Practice patience, and it'll be here in no time."

"Papa says that a lot." She giggled.

"It's the Whit family motto, after all."

Soon enough, Rachel and Abraham stepped downstairs, attracted by the smell of freshly-baked purpleberry pancakes. Winnie talked about how she helped put the purpleberries in, and even got to eat some. "They're yummy, aren't they?" Her father asked. "I used to sneak them when your grandmother made them for breakfast when she wasn't looking."

"I let you get away with it." Dorothy insisted. "You're not as sneaky as you thought you were."

"You keep saying that, Ma. You'll believe it someday." He smirked, sipping his coffee.

"Mama? When's the Whob'lation?"

"Let's see, it's seven AM right now, and it starts at six PM. So, in eleven hours."

"Aww, that'll take forever." Winnie sighed, drinking her milk.

"You know, Winnie," Dorothy said, tapping her chin in thought. "Your grandpa and I do need to do some shopping later today. And we always eat at Terri's Terrific Tacos."

"What're tacos?"

"They're food that consists of a flat piece of bread wrapped around meat, lettuce, and tomatoes. They sometimes have sauces, but they tend to be spicy." Luka explained. "So, it's like a sandwich, but there's only one piece of bread, it's flat, and it's sort of folded around the food."

"How would you like to come with your grandfather and I to town?"

"Can I, Mama and Papa?" Winnie asked.

"Certainly." Rachel nodded. "You can get to know your grandparents better, since you were two years old the last time you saw them."

"And it'll keep you busy until the Whobilation." Abraham added.

"Yaay!" She cheered, clapping her hands.

"Finish your breakfast, Winnie," Her mother said. "And then get dressed and brush your teeth. Your grandmother will tell you when it's time to go."

* * *

_She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and pulled on her coat of brown,  
She hurried, for she was eager to accompany her grandparents to town.  
While she waited, she couldn't stop talking about the Whobilation,  
The upcoming big Christmas celebration._

Finally, at about nine o'clock, Dorothy called, "Winnie, are you ready to go?

"Yes!" She jumped up from sitting on the floor, coloring crudely in a coloring book, and ran towards the front door.

"Winnie! Pick up your crayons!" Rachel yelled, not looking up from her magazine.

Winnie ran back, grabbed her crayons, and tossed them in the tin box they resided in prior to her coloring activities. Then, she ran back to her grandparents, who were holding her coat for her. "Slow down, speedster," Luca chuckled. "Whoville's not gonna disappear on us."

"We're going to be walking today, Winnie." Dorothy said, holding the little Who's hand. "It's good exercise, and we'll be able to see more of Whoville as well."

"Okay." She nodded, taking Luca's hand as well.

As they walked down the street, Winnie looked around, smiling widely. Whoville was just as pretty in the daytime as it was at night. The lights weren't as impressive, but there were still plenty of decorations to behold. And dozens of Whos walking and jumping around, shopping and decorating. It wasn't as busy as it was at home, but it was busy.

And she couldn't wait for the Whobilation.

She and her grandparents went to the grocery store mostly, but then stopped at Terri's Terrific Tacos for lunch. Winnie tried her first taco, and loved it. "I'm gonna ask Mama if there're tacos in New Who City." She said.

"You live in New Who City?"

She turned to look at who asked. It was a Who girl about her age, with pretty light-brown hair, blue eyes, and a green and red dress. She was with an adult Who, which Winnie assumed were her mother.

"Uh-huh." She nodded. "My mama and papa and I are in Whoville visiting Grandma and Grandpa."

The Who girl looked her up and down a bit skeptical. "Where's your fancy pretty dress?"

Winnie looked down at herself, confused. Her dress was a simple red dress with green bows on the shoulders. "This _is_ my pretty dress." She said, somewhat hurt.

"Martha, be nice." The Who woman said. "I'm sorry about her, her father said that people from New Who City were rich and had fancy clothes. Afternoon, Dorothy and Luca."

"Afternoon, Nancy," Dorothy nodded. "This is our granddaughter, Winnie."

"Winnie, this is Martha May Whovier." Luca said.

Martha waved hello, smiling widely. "How long are you staying?"

"Mama said we're staying for a few days after Christmas." She answered.

"Are you gonna be at the Whobilation?"

Winnie nodded eagerly. "I can't wait!"

"Me neither! It's the best time of the year."

"Martha, let's continue our shopping. Good day, Dorothy and Luca." Nancy left, followed by Martha."

"Grandma? Is my dress not fancy or pretty?"

"It doesn't matter whether it's fancy or not, sugarplum." Dorothy smiled. "And it's very pretty."

"Don't let what Martha said hurt you. It doesn't matter what other people think."

"I got this dress for Christmas last year." Winnie said, drinking the last of her hot coco. "And I also got my crayons last year."

"They sound like lovely gifts." Her grandmother nodded. "And are you satisfied with them?"

Winnie cocked her head in confusion. "What she means, Winnie, is that you should be grateful for everything, even if you get something small." Luca explained. "There are people who are unable to get any Christmas presents at all."

"Are they bad?"

"No, they just don't have enough money. Sometimes they're only able to spend Christmas with their families, yet they're perfectly happy."

"What we're trying to say, Winnie, is to be thankful for everything, small or big." Dorothy said. "Appreciate the small things in life. It could be worse."

Winnie nodded. She didn't know the full effect of her grandmother's words at six years old. But years later, when her grandparents would repeat those words, and she would think more on them, she knew they were right: be grateful for everything you have and/or get, whether it's a big house, or a humble little present.

* * *

**A/N Sorry that I'm not updating this as much as my Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic. That fanfic's in a position where it could be a fanfic or original story, and I'm trying to get into "familiar territory," whereas this fanfic knows it's in a Grinch universe, with the main character being in Whoville.**

**It's kinda hard writing Winnie as a six-year-old, since I don't remember much from my own life at six years old, and am not around my cousin who's about the same age all of the time. But I DO remember being impatient sometimes, and waking up early to go somewhere fun (mostly the zoo or museum)**

**I might not create rhyming verses all of the time, since poetry is a hard subject for me. But I'll try and put them in sparingly, as well as canon ones for the movie.**

**As a warning, I didn't really think much of Martha May Whovier in the Grinch movie. It's not because she's a canon love interest for our favorite Christmas grouch, but because she just rubs me the wrong way; especially when she was eight years old, acting like a teenager who wants to get the attention of the local school hot boy. I kinda feel like her "attraction" to the Grinch, especially as an adult, was shoehorned in (if that's the right term) She hadn't seen him for at least two decades, and for all we know, she only interacted with him one or two times in school, including what we saw in the film. Before I go into a big rant, I'm just gonna say this: I don't really like Martha much, but I'll TRY (emphasis on "try") not to make her a big enemy in this fanfic...unless you guys don't care XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**The Tell-Tale Man: Thanks :)**

* * *

Winnie kicked her hanging legs as she sat in a chair, flipping through a storybook. When she and her grandparents returned home, it was only a few hours until the Whobilation. And she could hardly wait.

If the trip from New Who City to Whoville took one hour, then she was in for a long wait.

She didn't want to color in her book again, so Dorothy found some old books her granddaughter's father read when he was her age, and gave them to Winnie to read.

While she read the books, her mind went back to the green Who boy she saw yesterday. He looked about her age, and was covered in green fur, reminding her of the mythical creature, Bigfoot, her uncle Robert talked about.

Luka told Winnie that she might see the boy during the Whobilation. She was quite curious about him, and so became more excited about the Whobilation than ever before.

Finally, Rachel stepped into Winnie's guestroom, where she was reading. "Winnie? Are you ready to go to the Whobilation?"

Her gray eyes sparkled in delight. "Yippee!" She tossed her book onto her bed and ran out the door past her mother.

"Slow down!" Rachel called back, chuckling slightly.

Winnie slowed down at the door, grabbed her coat, and pulled it on. Abraham, Luka, and Dorothy joined her and her mother and pulled on their coats as well. "Excited?" Dorothy chuckled.

"Yeah!" She nodded. "I can't wait!"

"We'll be walking so we can see all of the decorations." Luka said. "So, bundle up."

Abraham pulled Winnie's hat on over her head, and Rachel wrapped a red and green-striped scarf around her neck. She pulled the scarf down so her mouth was visible, and pulled on her black boots. She went outside, gasping at the bright Christmas lights and beautiful decorations.

"Mama! Papa! It's so pretty!" She exclaimed as her parents and grandparents came outside as well.

"Oh, my!" Rachel said. "It's beautiful!"

"And crowded." Abraham sighed. "You were right, Dad. It's like a mini-New Who City."

"Let's go!" Winnie skipped down the sidewalk, slowing down when her parents told her to do so. She spun around every now and then to gaze at the whole festival.

* * *

There were several games, like a potato sack race, contests, like the best pudding, fruitcake, and fudge, and the Christmas Slow Dance, which Winnie wasn't really interested in. There were young kids running around, having all kinds of fun.

Winnie loved the whole thing. It was a new experience, and it was a lot of fun.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the green Who boy she saw yesterday, standing with two elderly Who women. "Mama," She said, tugging her mother's coat sleeve. "That's the Who boy I saw yesterday."

"Don't point, Winnie. It's impolite."

"But it's the—"

"I see him." Rachel nodded. She saw how the boy glanced at the other Who children with boredom, yet loneliness. Smiling, she crouched by Winnie and said, "How about you go and say hi. He looks awful lonesome."

Nodding, she skipped up to the boy, who jumped upon seeing her. "Hi." She smiled widely. "My name's Winnie. What's yours?"

The boy cocked his head, suspicious that this girl walked up and said "hi" to him all on her own. He looked her up and down; she was a slightly-chubby girl, who was wearing a blue coat and red and green-striped scarf over a simple red dress with green bows on the sleeves, white socks, and black boots. Her red hair was slightly curled; she had wide gray eyes, freckles, and a friendly smile.

"Dear, the nice girl asked you your name." One of the elderly women said, nudging the boy.

Sighing, he said in a small voice, "Grinch."

Winnie copied his cocked head expression. "Your name's Grinch? That's a funny name…I like it." She giggled. "Are these your mamas?"

Still looking slightly-confused, he nodded. "We've never seen you before, Winnie." The other women said. "Do you live here?"

"Uh-uh. My mama and papa and I live in New Who City. We're visiting Grandpa and Grandma for Christmas and the Whob'lation."

"What are your grandparents' names?"

"Luka and Dorothy."

As she said this, Winnie's parents and grandparents joined her. "Who's your new friend, Winnie?" Abraham asked.

"Grinch." She smiled. "And these are his mamas."

"Evening, ladies." Her father nodded politely. "You've already met Winnie. I am Abraham Whit. This is my wife, Rachel. My parents are Luka and Dorothy Whit."

"Ah, your parents told us you were coming." One of Grinch's mothers said. "My name is Rose, and this is my sister, Clarnella. And this is our adopted son, Grinch."

"Your grandparents told us about you, Winnie. We didn't think you'd be such a darling little girl." Clarnella cooed, pinching Winnie's cheeks.

The six-year-old let the elderly women abuse her face, but when she let her go, she rubbed her cheeks, scowling lightly. Grinch snickered, shrugging.

"You know, dear," Rose said. "The stores are selling candy to the kids for half the price tonight. Do you like candy, Winnie?"

"Yes." She nodded eagerly.

"Would you and Grinch like to go get some candy for yourselves?"

"Can we, Mama?"

"It's all right with me." Rachel said. Abraham nodded in agreement, handing the Who girl some money. "Just don't get lost, and don't take too long."

"Come back when the big hand points to the six, and the little hand points to the eight on the big clock." Luka said.

"Okay." Winnie nodded, skipping along the sidewalk. Glancing at his mothers, Grinch followed her.

He was still a bit puzzled by this girl. He wasn't the most popular boy in his school, and he didn't have any friends. So, it came as a shock when this girl came out of nowhere, saying hi and asking him his name. And she even liked his name. It was peculiar that she didn't care that he was green and had fur. She was treating him like a regular Who boy.

"Do you live in Whoville?" She asked.

He nodded. "You said you live in New Who City?"

"Uh-huh. My mama and papa and I are visiting for—"

"You said that already."

"Oh yeah." She laughed. "Do you like Christmas?"

Grinch shrugged. "I guess."

"You guess?" She blinked in surprise. Then, she changed the subject, "What candy do you like?"

"…Fudge, I suppose?"

"Neat. I like candy canes. How old are you?"

"Six."

"Me too." They walked into the candy store. It was filled with all sorts of candies, and smelled like peppermint and chocolate.

"Hi, kids." The store owner, an elderly man, smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Can we have some candy?" Winnie asked.

"You certainly can. We've got all kinds here. What would you like?"

"I want a candy cane, please." She turned to Grinch. "What candy do you want?"

"Um…a bag of fudge balls."

The candy store owner grabbed a large candy cane, and a small bag of large marble-sized fudge balls. Winnie handed the man the money her father gave her, five dollars in total. "Is this enough?"

"It certainly is." He took out a few pennies in change, and gave them, and the candy, to Winnie. "You kids enjoy. And have a merry Christmas."

"Thank you." Winnie waved as she and Grinch exited the store. She handed him the bag of fudge balls, and untied the green ribbon from around her candy cane. "Have you ever had a candy cane?"

"No." Grinch shook his head, eating a fudge ball.

She broke her cane in half, and held out the curved half to her new friend. "Have it. It's good."

Glancing between her face and the candy, Grinch took the broken candy cane. "I guess you want some fudge balls?"

"I guess." She shrugged. "Just one, please?"

Grinch took a fudge ball out of the bag and gave it to Winnie. They walked down the sidewalk back to their parents, eating their respective candy, including the candy they shared. "I like fudge balls now." Winnie decided, licking the chocolate off of her lips.

"I like candy canes now." Grinch said, grinning slightly.

"Hey, look!" An obnoxious voice shouted from behind the two Who children. Grinch flinched heavily, scowling darkly. "It's the green fuzz."

Winnie turned to see two Who boys, both of which looked about her age. The one who had evidently shouted was a round boy with two funny tiny buns on the top of his head in his hair.

"Who's the girl though?" His friend, a skinny Who boy, asked. "I don't recognize her."

"Yeah, who're you?"

"I'm Winnie." She answered. "Who're you?"

"You don't know me?" The round boy scoffed. "I'm Augustus May-Who! My father's the mayor of Whoville."

"Oh."

"'Oh?' Don't you live here?"

"No. I live in New Who City."

"You don't look like it. Why're you with the Grinch?"

"Why not?" Winnie asked, confused. "He's my new friend."

Grinch turned to her, mildly surprised, and perhaps a bit joyed. Augustus and his friend, however, laughed. "You're his friend? Yeah, right! Who'd want to be friends with him? He's nothing but a misfit."

"Maybe she's a misfit too," The other Who boy suggested.

"Yeah, you're right, Whobris. Just listen to her name: 'Winnie.' That's what a horse says, Horsey."

"My name's not Horsey!" Winnie yelled, stomping her foot. "It's Winnie, Disgustus!"

Grinch laughed at the nickname, not stopping even when Augustus glared at him. "You shut up, you stupid girl!" The round Who boy grabbed her candy cane, threw it on the ground, and stomped it into small pieces. Then, he stomped back up the sidewalk, with Whobris trotting after him.

Grinch stopped laughing when Augustus took and destroyed Winnie's candy, eyes wide in astonishment. He turned to Winnie, whose eyes were welling up with tears. Sniffling, she turned and ran the direction they were going originally, calling out for her mama.

Feeling strange, Grinch followed after her. He found her hugging her mother, crying and telling her what had happened. "He-he insulted Grinch, an-and called me 'Horsey,' and then stomped on my candy cane!" She sobbed.

"Augustus May-Who, you said?" Luka asked. "I know he's the mayor's son. I heard he's somewhat of a bully."

"Grinch tells us he picks on him at school." Rose tsked. "I'm sorry he ruined your fun, Winnie dear."

Grinch just stared at Winnie, who still had tears running down her face. He felt guilty that she had been hurt, and lost her candy. He felt like it was his fault. He may be a bit of a brat himself, but he still felt bad for his new friend.

He set his bag of fudge balls on the ground, broke his candy cane half in half, and held it out to Winnie. "Here, Winnie. You can have this."

Sniffling, Winnie looked at the candy, and at Grinch. "R-really?"

"Uh-huh. I'm sorry you lost your candy."

Winnie pulled herself out of her mother's arms, and took the candy from the green Who boy's furry hand. Then, she shocked him by grabbing him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Grinch. You're much nicer than Disgustus."

He was frozen when she hugged him, but relaxed, hugging her back, and laughed again at the nickname.

"'Disgustus'? Did you call him that, Winnie?" Abraham asked, raising an eyebrow.

Stepping away from her new friend, Winnie nodded sheepishly, rocking back and forth on her heels. "I did it because he called me 'Horsey.'"

"Sweetie, you shouldn't call other people names." Dorothy said. "You'll be stooping to other people's levels. You don't want that."

"I don't?"

"No. If other kids call you names, just ignore them."

"Okay." She nodded, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"I think it's about time to go home." Rachel chuckled, lifting her daughter into her arms. "Someone seems tired."

"Do we gotta?"

"Yes, we 'have to.' If you don't go to sleep, Santa won't bring any presents."

Winnie nodded, and then smiled at Grinch. "Merry Christmas, Grinch."

He nodded, wishing her a merry Christmas as well as she and her parents and grandparents left. He felt a little warm inside, knowing he had made a new friend tonight.

* * *

**A/N Kind of a long chapter, this one...I sound like Yoda XD**

**Sorry that I didn't describe the Whobilation in greater detail. I don't know too much about it, other than it has the mentioned game and contests (it didn't have the slow dance, I added that in myself) And since it's so long now, I didn't quite want to make it any longer.**

**Now we've met the Grinch as a child :3 I hope I didn't make him too OOC, especially at the end of this chapter. From what we've seen in the movie, he seemed like a brat, but wasn't particularly nasty; he was just very mischievous (and didn't think too much of Christmas, though not as much when he's an adult) I figured he'd also be quite lonely, since he didn't seem popular in school. So, he'd be a bit confused that Winnie willingly and eagerly befriended him.**

**As you can see, I don't like the Whoville mayor. He was a particularly nasty character (one of those characters made to be hated, I suppose) and is a prime example of "once-a-bully-always-a-bully." And since Winnie's name is a homophone of whinny, the sound a horse makes, he would pick on her for that. She was also in the wrong for calling him a name though, but you gotta admit Disgustus is a funny and awesome nasty name XD**

**The next chapter's gonna have several time-jumps; the chapter after that will more than likely have the "Christmas classroom incident." Those who've seen the movie know what I mean...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Mocarela: The mayor's "soon to be fiancé" girl is Martha May Whovier XD**

* * *

For the short three days after Christmas, Winnie had the most fun of her life. She spent almost every minute with her grandparents, who told her all sorts of interesting stories, and even taught her Russian words, since it was the language they spoke before English. The accent was faint, but it was there.

And while she got to know her grandparents, Winnie also got to know her new friend, Grinch. The day after Christmas, she asked Dorothy and Luka where he and his mothers lived. "I wanna go visit him." She explained, glancing at Rachel and Abraham with pleading eyes.

"Well…if it means that much, I suppose you can go." Her father sighed. His wife nodded in agreement.

"I'll call up Rose and Clarnella," Dorothy said, picking up the phone. "And see if we can go visit for a while."

Luckily, Rose, who was the one on the phone, agreed eagerly to have Winnie visit. "The boy needs a friend. He doesn't get the right attention in school, so Winnie is a breath of fresh air for him."

That afternoon, after lunch, Dorothy walked Winnie to the spinster sisters' house. Grinch was very surprised to see Winnie, but warmed up to her when he realized it wasn't a fluke, and that she wanted, indeed, to be his friend.

Winnie didn't care that he was covered in green fur, or even that he didn't like Christmas as much as "normal" Who children. She liked him for himself. And he was beginning to like her as well.

Unfortunately, the three days passed quickly. On the third night, Grinch, Rose, and Clarnella were at Dorothy and Luka's house when Rachel and Abraham dropped the bomb, so to speak. "Winnie? Tomorrow we leave on the train for New Who City."

"Already?" She whined, tears welling in her eyes. "We can't stay a little longer?"

"Don't you miss home?" Abraham asked gently.

"Yeah…but I'll miss Grandma, and Grandpa, and Grinch."

Although he didn't admit it, Grinch knew he would miss his first friend too.

"You can come back next Christmas, if you'd like, dear." Dorothy smiled. "Or in the summertime, maybe."

"Who knows," Clarnella shrugged. "Perhaps when you're all grown up, you can move to our little town."

"Yeah!" Winnie nodded eagerly. "I wanna move to Whoville when I'm grown up!"

"That's a big decision—"

"Let her be, son." Luka chided Abraham. "She's a smart child. She knows what she wants. Maybe someday she _will_ move here. It's a nice neighborhood."

Early the next morning, the Whit family exchanged tearful hugs and goodbyes to family and friends alike. "I'll really miss you, Grinch." Winnie sniffled, hugging her furry friend.

He hugged her back, pretending to not notice the tears budding in his yellow and blue eyes. "Yeah, I'll miss you too." He whispered.

"Maybe we'll come back next Christmas."

"You…you won't forget me?" He asked hopefully as the hug ended.

"No way!" She shook her head, smiling. "I can't forget you…you won't forget _me_, will you?"

"Nope." He grinned.

"Winnie, it's time to go." Rachel said, taking her daughter's hand.

"And this time, stay on the train until we say so." Her father said, stepping onboard. He and Luka had already piled the suitcases into the luggage car.

"Bye-bye!" Winnie yelled, waving to her grandparents and newfound friend. She waved again when she took her seat by the window. She smiled when they waved back. As the train began pulling out of the station, she craned her neck to look back until all of Whoville disappeared in the churned-up snow.

_Winnie never did forget those five days in Whoville for a minute.  
She didn't forget the Whobilation, or her grandparents, or Grinch. Not one little bit.  
She kept those precious memories close to her heart.  
But after those five days, the hard parts of her life began to start._

* * *

_One year and three months later…_

Another Christmas came and went in Whoville. Another Whobilation came and went as well, but Grinch's new friend, Winnie, didn't come again. He wondered if she didn't want to come again. When he asked Rose and Clarnella this, they pointed out that the little Who girl had been extremely excited to come to Whoville and attend the Whobilation, and was very happy to have Grinch. "Perhaps something came up?" Rose suggested.

Then, one Friday in March, Rose and Clarnella pulled Grinch aside after school. "We have some news, dear: Winnie is moving to Whoville to live with her grandparents tomorrow."

He smiled widely, feeling excited that not only he would see his new friend, but she lived in the same town as he. But something was off. "Why aren't her parents coming too?"

The sisters glanced at each other with forlorn expressions. "Her grandparents told us that…last December, a few days before Christmas, there was an accident by a mountain outside of New Who City." Rose explained. "Winnie and her parents were picnicking nearby…and there was an avalanche. Winnie was okay…but her parents didn't make it."

Grinch remained silent for several seconds. This explained why they didn't come to Whoville for Christmas. "Why didn't she come sooner?"

"Funerals—events where family and friends remember people who died—take time to plan." Clarnella replied. "And it also took some time before it was decided Winnie would live with her grandparents. They had to fill out grownup papers and prepare to move."

"Can we go visit her?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea, dear." Rose shook her head. "Winnie needs time to settle in, and she's probably still mourning over her parents."

"You'll see her in school though."

* * *

On Monday, the elementary school teacher, Ms. Ruewho, announced something at the beginning of the class. "We have a new student who moved into Whoville just two days ago." She beckoned at the door with a hand.

A slightly-chubby redhead Who girl walked in shyly. She wore a blue sweatshirt, dark-blue jeans, and black boots. She had red hair that went past her shoulders, gray eyes, and freckles across her upturned nose.

Grinch immediately recognized her, and waved, "Hi, Winnie!"

The other students glared at him, but he took no notice.

Winnie smiled and waved back, evidently recognizing her friend, despite having not seen him for over a year.

"As Mr. Grinch told us, this is Winnie Whit. She's just moved in with her grandparents from New Who City. I want you all to treat her like any other student." She nudged Winnie, silently telling her to take a seat.

The only empty seat was to the left of the Grinch. The other students watched, wondering if Winnie would get upset about the seating arrangement, and if she would ask to sit somewhere else.

Instead, to everyone's surprise, she walked to the chair and sat down, smiling again at the Grinch like he was a normal Who child.

Grinch was itching to talk to Winnie. But every time he tried to talk to her, a student would hiss at him to be quiet, or Ms. Ruewho would tell Grinch that the children could talk during recess or lunch.

Finally, lunch came. Once Grinch found Winnie, he hurried over to sit by her. They had both brought their lunches to school that day. Winnie had a sealed cup of milk, a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato, and a cinnamon and sugar cookie. Grinch had an onion and cheese sandwich, a bottle of water, and a slightly-old banana. "Hi, Winnie…you didn't forget me, did you?" He asked.

"Nope." She shook her head, smiling. "Like I said, I can't ever forget you. I'm glad you didn't forget me."

"I'm sorry about your mom and dad." He said.

"Thanks." She answered quietly, hiding her face as she drank her milk.

"My moms said it was an av…an avalang…an avalanche."

"Mm-hmm. A lot of snow fell down the mountain…Mama and Papa were buried…"

Feeling a little guilty, Grinch changed the subject. "You said you wanted to move to Whoville when you grew up. Now you don't have to wait."

"Yeah." Winnie nodded, looking happy about the subject change. "It's nice even without the Christmas decorations. I'm sorry I didn't come to the Whobilation."

"It's okay. It wasn't exciting anyway."

Winnie smiled slightly at her friend, knowing he was both being honest—she remembered he didn't think much of Christmas—and was trying to be nice. But she didn't mind. She was happy to see her friend again after so long.

During recess later, the two Who kids climbed on what looked like a jungle gym and treehouse hybrid to talk and play together. "Is Disgustus still picking on you?" Winnie asked.

Snickering in remembrance to the nickname she gave Augustus. "Yeah, he is. He thinks he's the best kid in Whoville just because his dad's the mayor! Big deal!"

"He's just a mean bully." Winnie scowled, wrinkling her nose. "I wonder if he recognizes _me_."

"Hey, Horsey!"

"I think he does." Grinch deadpanned. They both looked down to see Augustus and Whobris standing at the edge of the jungle gym treehouse hybrid, which Winnie dubbed the jungle-house. "I thought you lived in New Who City," Augustus yelled. "Why'd you come to live here?"

"None of your business, Disgustus." Grinch sneered.

"He asked the girl, dummy," Whobris said. "Not you."

Winnie pulled a straw she saved from her lunch out of her pocket, and ripped a small piece of paper out of her notebook from her other pocket. She balled up the paper, held it in her mouth for a couple of seconds, and put the wet ball in the straw. Winking at Grinch, she held the other end of the straw in her mouth, aimed it at Augustus, who was too busy taunting her friend, and blew through the straw as hard as she could.

The wet ball of paper flew out of the straw and hit the fat Who kid in the shoulder. "What was that?!" He exclaimed.

"I dunno." Whobris shrugged.

Winnie lay back on her back, giggling. As soon as Augustus and Whobris left, Grinch asked what she had done. "It's a spitball. One of my cousins taught it to me last summer. You need some paper and a straw." She showed him how she balled up another ripped piece of paper and wet it in her mouth. "Then, you put it in the straw, and blow as hard as you can."

Grinch took the straw, aimed at Augustus, who was on the other side of the small playground, and blew hard. This time, it hit him in the back of the head. He jumped and spun around, looking extremely confused.

Winnie and Grinch laughed, rolling around in the small jungle-house.

* * *

**A/N Sorry that Winnie spending more time in Whoville and visiting the Grinch weren't more detailed. I also forgot to give her grandparents soft Russian accents. Should I go back and edit them? I'm not even 100% sure how to write a Russian accent (which will be a problem, because adult!Winnie's Russian accent thickens when she gets angry)**

**Originally, after my little rhyming verse, it was going to show what's going on with Winnie after she gets back from New Who City. But I had a better idea: time-jump (since I said I was going to do so) to when she moves into Whoville. It's not when she's an adult though.**

**I feel like I give a lot of my characters tragic pasts. It's kinda cliche, I know, but giving them normal pasts is kind of...boring, in my opinion.**

**I figured even as a kid, Grinch liked foods that were deemed unlikable or even gross. After all, it was shown in the movie that he enjoyed eating onions like apples, and greasy, black banana peels. Why they decided to do that, I don't know. I know the song compared him to at least two disgusting foods (BTW, is arsenic sauce a real thing? If so, how does it taste?) It's not like he ate them. Either way, I thought he might like an onion and cheese sandwich. I myself prefer what Winnie's having (I LOVE grilled cheese!)**

**As you can see, Winnie's kind of a troublemaker herself. But she doesn't play pranks on all of the schoolkids, just ones she doesn't like (Augustus mostly) I thought it'd be interesting and cute that it was Winnie who taught Grinch how to use spitballs, since we saw him using it at least once in the movie.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

* * *

Over the next nine months, Grinch and Winnie became very close friends. The young Who girl always had a story or two to tell her grandparents about the fun she and her best friend had. She told them how she taught him how to use spitballs, and they used them on Augustus—she made sure to avoid using her preferred nickname for the bully.

"Winnie, you shouldn't stoop to the bully's level." Luca said sternly.

"But you shouldn't not fight back if you're hurt either." Dorothy added. "It's like my father said: if someone hits you, hit them back."

"Just be careful if you decide to do that."

At the time, Winnie didn't quite understand what her grandfather meant by "being careful" if she decided to hit someone back. But then one day in school, during recess, she was sitting under the jungle-house, reading a book. Grinch was climbing in the bars of the jungle-house, making monkey sounds every now and then, and hanging upside down by his legs.

Augustus and some other Who boys were kicking a ball around, when one boy kicked the ball in Winnie's direction. It bounced off of her forehead, making her head fall back against a bar on the jungle-house.

"Oops, sorry." The boy snickered, not sounding sorry at all, as Winnie rubbed the back of her head, scowling.

She stood up, picked up and dusted off her book, and kicked the ball back as hard as she could. It managed to hit the boy in the stomach. "See how _you_ like it!" She sneered, sticking her tongue out.

Scowling, Augustus grabbed up the ball and bounced it hard on the sidewalk towards Winnie again. It hit her hard in the face this time, succeeding in knocking her to the ground. "See how _you_ like it, Horsey!"

When he heard his best friend cry, and saw her hold her nose in pain, Grinch jumped to the ground, stomped over to Augustus, and punched him in the face. "Stop hitting her with the ball!" He yelled, kicking it away. It bounced up and over the fence of the schoolyard.

"Now look what you did, you stupid!" One of Augustus's friends snapped.

Grinch wasn't listening as he helped Winnie to her feet. "I t'ink he broke m'by nose." She muttered, removing one hand, only to see a few spots of blood. "I gotta go to de nurse." She ran inside, ignoring the laughs behind her at her nasally speech.

As it turned out, Winnie's nose wasn't broken. She only got a nosebleed, and a bad bruise. But she was still sore that she got hurt twice by the boys and their ball. When she got home and told her grandparents about it, Dorothy gently placed a large bandage with flowers over her granddaughter's purple nose. "Augustus's mother said he claimed you started it."

"No I didn't!" She protested. "I was reading my book, and one of his dumb friends kicked the ball into my head!"

"Don't call them dumb." Dorothy said sternly.

"You said if they hit me, I should hit them back. And I did."

"I know. But I should have been clearer: it's better to hit back if your life is in danger. If you're hit by a ball, don't kick it back at them. You might hurt someone."

"What was I supposed to do?"

"You could have climbed into the jungle-house to read. They can't get the ball up there."

Winnie felt very foolish after that conversation. But she secretly decided—and told Grinch, the next day—that if something like that happened again, they always had their trusty spitballs.

* * *

Another person Winnie didn't like was Martha May Whovier. She still didn't like that she thought her clothes from New Who City weren't very fancy. But, upon suggestion from Luca, tried to look past that and become friends with the girl.

Martha seemed nice at first, offering condolences to Winnie for being bullied. But there was the way she looked at her whenever they were in class.

Ever since the first day of school that year, Winnie sat next to Grinch, so it was easy to "talk" by passing each other notes when Ms. Ruewho wasn't looking. At some point, she noticed Martha would furrow her eyebrows at her, especially after she received a note from Grinch. Then, if Grinch looked her way, she would smile widely, fluttering her eyelashes.

Winnie didn't like either of these expressions. She didn't like being glared at, and her smiling and fluttering her eyelashes at Grinch made her a bit uncomfortable. When she told her grandparents about all of this, Dorothy suggested, "Perhaps she's jealous of you."

"Jealous? Why?"

"Because you're such good friends with Grinch." Luca explained. "Perhaps she likes him."

"Why can't she befriend him then? She almost never talks to him."

"Maybe she's shy." Dorothy shrugged.

But Winnie wondered if it was something else. She had seen Augustus talking to Martha, and over the next few months, they looked like they were becoming friends, despite the former being a bully. But he never bullied Martha like he did Winnie.

The little Who girl was confused. Why would Augustus pick on her and call her names, but not do the same to Martha? What made her so special?

"Maybe he likes her?" She asked out loud to her stuffed elephant. The last two Christmas presents from her parents, which took her a few months to decide to open, were a stuffed gray elephant clutching a pink flower in its trunk, and a necklace with a star-shaped pendant the size of a half-dollar coin. It was cracked in half, and each half had its own string.

At first, Winnie was very confused by this gift. Dorothy explained that it was a friendship necklace. "You keep one half, and you give the other half to your dearest friend." She explained, placing the necklace with the left half of the star around Winnie's neck. "If you both wear them, you'll be friends forever."

Winnie already knew who she was giving the other half of the necklace to.

She patted the velvet elephant's head, lips pursed in thought. Though she was smart, she was still a seven-year-old girl, who barely knew a thing about romance, save for in movies and books, and seeing real-life couples, including her parents and grandparents. But she wondered if Augustus liked Martha, if that was why she was becoming friends with him.

"If she's becoming his friend, maybe she doesn't talk with Grinch much because Disgustus doesn't like him. And she wants to be cool…that's dumb." She wrinkled her nose. She felt a little hurt that Martha, who she was trying to make friends with, was befriending her enemy, but didn't let it get her down. She still had her best friend.

"I'm gonna give him the friendship necklace tomorrow." She decided. "I hope he likes it." She kissed her elephant's forehead, snuggled down in her bed, and pulled the covers over her shoulder. She soon fell into dreamland.

* * *

The next day, just after lunch, Winnie grabbed Grinch's hand and pulled him to the jungle-house. "What do you want?" He asked.

She knew he wasn't being mean. "I wanna give you something." She said, showing him her necklace. "This was Mama's last Christmas present to me. Grandma said it's half of a friendship necklace. The other half sticks to it to make a star." She pulled the other one out of her pocket and showed him. "She said I keep one, and give the other one to my bestest friend—that's you. So, we'll be friends forever."

Grinch was very close to saying that necklaces were too girly. But then he gave the last sentence a thought. _So, we'll be friends forever._

Winnie was his only friend; she was his best friend, in fact. And he knew she wouldn't stop being friends with him. But it never hurt to be sure. "Okay." He nodded.

Giggling happily, Winnie moved so she was behind him, and placed the necklace around his neck, just like Dorothy showed string was mostly hidden in his thick green fur, but the golden and blue star half shined brightly. "Now we'll be best friends forever!" She cheered, hugging Grinch.

He smiled softly, hugging her back. It felt good having a friend, even if he had to wear a "girly" necklace.

* * *

**A/N This chapter's mostly more insight on Winnie's days in school at Whoville.**

**I'm trying to make Winnie the type of character who will definitely defend herself (her pic on DeviantART says she's known for slapping hard enough to bruise when she's an adult) but at the same time, isn't violent. If she's not being picked on, therefore needing to defend herself, she's very docile.**

**The stuffed elephant Winnie has is actually a stuffed animal version of a canon character. I'm not saying who ones said character, because it'll be too easy to guess, but it should be fairly easy anyway ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**lexigirl23: Thanks :) I'm glad you like Winnie so far. The classroom incident is actually in this chapter; this story will go through the movie and beyond, so it'll definitely have Cindy Lou and Max ;)**

* * *

Eventually, it was two days before Christmas. Unknown to Winnie, until last week, was that on Christmas Eve, the kids gave gifts for "that special someone," as Ms. Ruewho called it. Winnie felt it was more like Valentine's Day than Christmas, but didn't say so.

She already knew who she was going to get a gift for. She snuck a glance over to her friend, who was busy scribbling something on a piece of paper, snickering to himself. He folded up the picture, and when the teacher turned her back, tossed it onto Winnie's lap.

She opened the paper and snickered: it was a picture of Santa's sleigh being hit and destroyed by a rocket, and the injured reindeer parachuting to the ground, while Santa flew away, yelling. She refolded the paper and slipped it into her coat pocket. She enjoyed Grinch's pictures, even if they were a bit morbid; Winnie herself couldn't draw very well.

She looked further past him and spied Martha, who was leaning on her stack of books in front of her, smiling and batting her eyelashes, licking a lollipop.

Winnie wrinkled her nose at the Who girl, who returned the small glare. The two girls had become rivals during the school year. While Martha liked batting her eyelashes at the boys—mostly Grinch or Augustus—Winnie loved learning, and paid as much attention in class as she could. Though she still passed notes with her best friend on occasion.

As class ended, and everyone left, she heard Augustus sneer at Grinch from behind her, "You don't have a chance with her, you're eight years old and you have a beard!"

Winnie paused and glared over her shoulder as the other students laughed. "Shut up, Disgustus!"

"_You_ shut up, Horsey." Augustus sniffed, pushing her aside as he left. She stumbled a little, but grabbed a desk to keep her balance.

"Don't listen to him, Grinch." She said. "You don't have a beard."

"Thanks, Winnie." He smiled slightly.

As soon as she got home, Winnie asked her grandparents to take her shopping. "I wanna get a present for my 'special someone' for school for tomorrow."

"And who's this 'special someone'?" Dorothy asked with a sly smile.

"Hmmm…someone." Winnie rocked back and forth on her heels, hands behind her back, as her cheeks blushed.

Luka took Winnie to the store, and quickly found something good. "How's this, Winnie?" Luka asked, holding up the object.

"It's perfect!" Winnie nodded, her eyes sparkling. "He'll love it!"

"Oh, it's a 'he,' eh?" Luka chuckled.

"I…I guess." Winnie shrugged.

Her grandfather laughed again, patting the dark-red sock cap his granddaughter was wearing.

* * *

The next day, Winnie was wriggling excitedly as she stood in the classroom among her classmates. She had endured the others exchanging gifts, and couldn't wait to give her own gift to her "special someone": her best friend, Grinch.

She had no idea why it was so amusing that her best friend was her "special someone" to her grandparents—she figured out that they knew who she was giving her gift to. Every time it was brought up, someone laughed. When she asked why it was funny, they laughed more.

But she brushed it aside today, on Christmas Eve. She already received her own gift: a ragdoll that looked like herself from one of her few other friends, a girl with round glasses that magnified her eyes named Rudy, who enjoyed making ragdolls.

"Has everyone given their gifts?" Ms. Ruewho asked the entire class.

Winnie was about to say she hadn't when someone else interrupted, "I haven't."

Everyone looked at the coat rack. Grinch stepped out, holding something in his arms. He had a paper bag, with eyes cut out, over his head. He set the object, which was an angel tree topper made out of kitchen supplies and beads, on his desk. "Merry Christmas, Martha May." He said a little shyly.

"Why do you have a bag on your head?" Ms. Ruewho asked, sounding amused.

"Probably because he's embarrassed by that hideodorous gift." Augustus snickered.

"Shut up, Disgustus!" Winnie exclaimed. "I think it's pretty!"

"Ms. Winnie, don't call names or shout." The teacher scolded. Then, she turned to Grinch. "Mr. Grinch, please take the bag off."

He sat at his desk and gestured at the bag. "Yes, you. Take it off."

He propped a book up so his face was hidden, and then removed the bag. It was as if he didn't want anyone to see his face. "Put the book down." Ms. Ruewho said gently.

Grinch laid the book down, revealing his booted foot propped up on the desk, still blocking his face. "And your foot."

He slowly removed his foot, revealing that his face was patchy and covered in nicks and bandages. "Oh no, what happened?!" Winnie exclaimed in shock.

"Look at that hack job!" Augustus shouted. He and the other kids, except for Martha and Winnie, all began laughing. Even Ms. Ruewho covered her mouth to conceal her snickers.

"Stop laughing at him!" Winnie yelled. turning and glaring at them all. Her friends—Rudy, Helga, and Jamie—covered their mouths and managed to stop, but the other kids only laughed harder. She didn't notice Martha glaring at them as well

"Stupid present!" Winnie jumped at the shout, and saw Grinch throw the gift he made at the wall, causing it to shatter.

Everyone's laughs turned into gasps. "Stupid tree!" In a fit of strength, Grinch grabbed the Christmas tree that was in the corner and held it over his head as though it were a simple twig. "I. Hate. Christmas!" He screamed before throwing it at the opposite wall.

Everyone ran out of the school, screaming, save for Martha and Winnie, who stood by, both watching in shock. Grinch ran out of the school as well, pausing only to glance back at the two Who girls.

"Grinch!" Winnie stuffed the present she never got to give him in her schoolbag and ran after him. "Grinch, come back!" She ran out into the snow, and caught up with him. "Grinch, wait!"

Not glancing at her, he pushed her away from him and continued to run out of the town. Winnie sat in the snow and watched her best friend disappear into the falling snow. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she hugged her knees to her chest. "Grinch…come back…please come back." She whispered.

"Hey, you okay?"

She looked up to see a Who boy a few years older than her looking down at her. He had shaggy brown hair, handsome blue eyes, and a look of concern on his face.

"Um…"

"Why are you sitting in the snow and crying? You look like you've lost your best friend."

Sniffling, Winnie answered, "I did. He ran away. All the kids wouldn't stop laughing at him."

"Aw, I'm sorry." The boy held out his hand. "Want me to walk you back to the school?"

"No," She shook her head, taking the boy's hand. He pulled her to his feet. "I-I wanna go home."

"All right then. Take care, okay…er, I don't know your name." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Winnie. Winnie Whit."

"Oh, you moved here in spring, didn't you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm Aaron. Aaron Benson-Who. I live downtown on Whoabby street…Well, Merry Christmas, I guess." He left with his hands in his coat pockets.

After watching him disappear behind a building, Winnie picked up her schoolbag off of the ground and trudged home, feeling empty and drained of the Christmas spirit.

As soon as she walked in, Dorothy grabbed her in a hug. "Oh, Winnie," She sighed. "Your grandfather and I heard what happened. We're so sorry. Are you all right?" She let her granddaughter go and spun her around once t look her over.

"I'm okay, Grandma." She answered.

"Rose and Clarnella called," Luka said.

"Is Grinch home?!" Winnie asked hurriedly.

"No, they said he didn't come home." He shook his head, making her sigh. "Did you see which way he went?"

"No. He just ran away." She didn't bring up that she ran after him, only to be pushed aside. "He's…he's gone." More tears fell down her face. "My best friend is gone!" Breaking into sobs, she pushed past her grandparents and ran into her room, ignoring them as they called after her, and collapsed on the bed. She hugged her elephant tight to her chest and sobbed against the velvety materiel.

After that day, Christmas was a little less special to her.

* * *

**A/N It took me a while to decide when the Christmas gift exchange in the school was. To my knowledge, it was never stated in the movie. In my opinion, I think it took place on Christmas Eve. And I also think, in this case, the term "special someone" could be translated to a really good friend/someone you like, since they're only eight years old.**

**Speaking of which, I think I said this before, but the classroom scene was where I liked Martha the least. Just the way she acted weirded me out; not so much towards the end, but definitely during the beginning of the flashback. And when she remembered Grinch's...muscles, during the present, all I could say was "You were eight years old!" I might be the only one who thinks her behavior as a kid was odd, but you can't tell me I was the only one who raised an eyebrow at her remembrance to the situation (I can't actually raise one eyebrow; only both :() If the kids were, say, in their mid-teens, I would probably understand, but they weren't even in their double-digits.**

**So, when Winnie doesn't think much of Martha's attitude towards the Grinch, that's me kind of "projecting" a bit of myself into my character (which I try not to do too much, if at all) She just thinks it's strange, and is a bit protective of her friend, since they're both picked on in school.**

**I decided I'm going to wait until later in the story (much later) to reveal what Winnie's gift for the Grinch is. I already know what it is, if you're wondering; I actually put a lot of thought into it. I just thought it'd be interesting to not reveal it yet ;)**

**So, this Aaron is actually gonna be a bit of a recurring character. I was originally going to have a randomly generated name for him, but then I remembered Grinch mentioned a couple of Who names after the flashback, one of which was Aaron B. Benson-Who (it didn't have the hyphen originally) So I thought it'd be funny to make that an actual character.**

**The next chapter's going to be another time-jump to when Winnie's a young adult; so, it's going to be a "Ten Years Later..." kind of thing.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

* * *

_After that fateful day, Christmas was less special to the young Who.  
Winnie's life had changed dramatically, though wouldn't yours too?  
Twenty years came and went, with changes both good and bad.  
But soon, Winnie would have the best change she ever had._

Twenty years indeed bring changes, both good and bad, for Winnie. She had grown from a chubby, mischievous little girl to a curvy, still-mischievous twenty-eight-year-old woman. She still had her round cheeks, freckles, button nose, and sparkling gray eyes. She had discovered a talent for putting together broken objects, even creating new objects from random pieces of junk, ranging from functional to artistic.

After the "Grinch incident," some of the students, including Augustus May-Who, were pulled from the school by their parents to be homeschooled. Winnie, however, knew her friends would stay in school, and begged her grandparents to allow her to still go to school. Dorothy and Luka didn't see the harm—especially since the children who bullied her the most weren't going to the same school any more—and allowed her.

Life wasn't the same without her best friend. Winnie often glanced forlornly at his desk, which was left untouched by the other students. At some point, the little Who-girl took the desk herself. No one said anything about it.

Even though Grinch was gone, Winnie still had her other friends, even twenty years later: Rudy, Helga, and Jamie.

Rudy had red hair in tight curls, round glasses that magnified her green eyes, even twenty years later, and often wore her favorite fuchsia jacket in cold weather. She worked at her mother's clothing shop, though she still made ragdolls upon request, for children and adults alike. She had the habit of studying someone for several minutes, before recommending a type of clothing, or making a doll to their likeness. Almost everyone finds this odd and creepy, though her friends are flattered by the fashion suggestions. They all had ragdolls that she made for them.

Helga had black hair that she often wore in a bun, narrow brown eyes, and often wore her favorite color of green. She was content with working with her sister, but dreamed of being a singer, often singing out of the blue. This would startle, humor, or annoy her friends and nearby strangers. She loved almost all music, whether it's loud and fast or low and slow. But she couldn't cook to save her life; her sister commented that she could burn water.

Jamie was Helga's older sister. She had reddish-brown hair often in a large, loose braid, hooded dark-blue eyes, and enjoyed wearing blue and purple. She was one of the best cooks in Whoville, and owned her own bakery, where she cooked bread, cakes, and even had a small diner. Unlike her sister, she couldn't sing, and made even birds cringe. She is always annoyed by Helga's out-of-the-blue singing, though not because she herself couldn't sing, but because it was at a bad time or was getting old and annoying that day.

Winnie loved all of her friends, and counted herself lucky that she had them, especially after Grinch disappeared. Sometimes though, she would stare off to the side in silence, wondering where her best friend was, and if he was even alive. She seldom spoke about him, but wouldn't get defensive or angry if he was brought up either.

Much to her disappointment, Augustus—whom she still secretly called "Disgustus"—was voted to be mayor. Whether this was because of his father's influence, or because everyone who attended school forgot about or didn't care about his bullying days, Winnie would never know. But she herself hadn't voted for him, and neither did her friends.

"Maybe the voting was rigged?" Rudy asked, as the four friends sipped bubbly sodas at the soda bar in the drugstore.

"Maybe." Winnie shrugged, gently spinning her soda in her glass. "I'm betting his father had a hand in it. He probably wanted his son to be mayor."

"Then Disgustus will want his own kid to be mayor." Helga added, lowering her voice at the mention of the nickname.

"I pity the woman who bears his kid."

"Even Martha May Whovier?" Jamie smirked.

"…I change my mind." Winnie decided, sipping her drink.

"You still have a grudge?" Rudy raised an eyebrow.

Winnie did indeed still have a grudge against Martha. It didn't help that the Who girl had grown into a very showy woman, who seemed to enjoy being on the arm of a famous Who.

"I'm just peeved that she acted…that way, when we were all barely in our double-digits, and didn't do a thing to stop the kids from making fun of Grinch. Not even when he gave her that beautiful gift! She just stood there."

The other girls were silent as Winnie ranted about Martha, and soon Augustus. That day twenty years ago was engraved in most everyone's minds. They themselves got an earful from their friend for laughing along with the other kids, though unlike them, they were guilty. Grinch only got a few nicks from trying to shave his face; he didn't deserve to be laughed at. Only it was too late, when they realized this, to apologize to him.

Glancing at her sister, Helga said, "Um, Winnie?"

The redhead paused cursing out her childhood bully. "What?"

"We weren't going to show you this until later," She held up a piece of paper, which Winnie recognized as being from the newspaper tabloid, _Lies or Truth?_

"Girls, you know those stories aren't often true."

"The logo doesn't lie." Helga pointed out. "Maybe…just maybe," She tossed the paper onto the bar, making it slide in front of Winnie. "This time, it's truth."

Winnie looked down at the paper. The main black and white picture was very grainy, and she almost couldn't make out what exactly it was a photo of. But the more she looked at it, the clearer it became. It looked like a thin bear with long arms walking in the snow near the summit of Mt. Crumpit, the tallest mountain that was near Whoville. The title was, "Green Furry 'Who?' Creature Spotted on Mt. Crumpit." The creature had a thick fringe on the top of its head, and seemed to be glancing at the camera.

Winnie's mind shot back to a green-furred boy she once knew, who also had a thick fringe on his head. Her wide eyes stared at the picture, and her hands shook lightly. "…It couldn't be." She shook her head, though her heart begged for it to be true. "It couldn't. He wouldn't have gone up there! No one in their right mind would go up Mt. Crumpit!"

"He was running away from the village," Rudy pointed out. "Think about it. If you were upset, and running somewhere that wasn't home, wouldn't you want to be somewhere that people seldom go, so you'd be alone?"

"…Yes, that's true." Winnie nodded. She missed Grinch badly, even to this day, so she wanted it to be true, but at the same time, she told herself that it couldn't possibly be him.

"Even if he's up there, what are you expecting her to do?" Rudy turned to Helga. "Go up to Mt. Crumpit and see if he's up there? He might have been passing by. He could be somewhere else out in Pontoos."

As her friends spoke, Winnie's mind turned back to the mountain in question. Mt. Crumpit was the highest mountain that was near Whoville. Though avalanches were very seldom up there, Winnie still felt her stomach twist in nervousness when she thought of herself scaling the mountain. Ever since her parents died over twenty years ago, she had a slight fear of high mountains, and a big fear of avalanches. Even a high wall of cardboard boxes falling made her heart stop in fright.

_But your best friend could be up there._ Her mind said. _He could be up there, bitter and alone, not knowing that down in Whoville someone misses him. You need to swallow your fear and get up there._

Slapping her hands on the bar, Winnie stood up, furrowing her eyebrows. "I'm going."

Her friends stared up at her in shock. "You're crazy!" Helga exclaimed.

"She and Rudy are right," Jamie nodded. "Even if he's still out there, he could be anywhere, maybe not even in Mt. Crumpit!"

"I won't know unless I go though." Winnie pointed out. "Girls…I need to know. This is the first inkling that my first Whoville friend's out there. I just…I need to know."

Exchanging glances, the other girls stood up as well. "You're gonna need a coat." Rudy said. "Even in summer, Mt. Crumpit's a hell of a cold place. I'll lend you my coat."

"Oh no, Rudy! Your lucky jacket?"

"Hey, maybe it'll give you some luck."

"You're gonna need all the luck you can get," Jamie said, crossing her arms. "Rudy's right, it's freezing up there."

"Don't scare her, sis." Helga said, shoving her playfully. "Don't listen to her, Winnie. With Rudy's coat, _you will survive! Oh, as long as you know how to love_—"

"Helga," Jamie deadpanned. "Not really the time."

"Sorry."

* * *

Winnie pulled on her friend's coat and zipped it up, immediately feeling very warm in the summer heat. Sighing, she touched the half-star necklace that she still wore, even after over twenty years. She still remembered Dorothy telling her that if she and her best friend wore their necklaces, they would remain best friends forever.

"I wonder if he still has it." She whispered. She glanced at the wall, smiling at the tatty picture of Santa's sleigh falling to the ground and injured reindeer, taped on the wall in her room. Her stuffed elephant was on her dresser, and Grinch's "Special Someone" present was on a small desk in her closet, still wrapped after twenty years. These, including her childish-looking necklace, were all memorabilia from her childhood.

Winnie still lived in her grandparents' house, even after her grandmother died of old age, and her grandfather lived in Whoville's retirement home. Luka, being confined to a wheelchair, convinced Winnie to admit him to the retirement home, saying she needed to be a free adult. "I'll be fine. I talked to my friends, who live there. They say it's like paradise." He said.

She finally smiled and nodded. "All right. I'll visit you every day."

"That's a little excessive," He chuckled. "How about once a week?"

"All right. If I can't make it, I'll call or write instead."

"Deal."

Winnie kept to her promise of visiting Luka once a week. When she was unable to—she was busy with work at the Fix-it-Fred Junkshop or sick—she talked to him on the phone instead.

Tonight, she talked to him again, telling him about the tabloid. "I saw it too," He said. "I wonder if Clarnella and Rose did." The spinster sisters were living at their home instead of the retirement home.

"It's strange, I really want it to be him…but at the same time, I'm telling myself it could easily not be him. I don't want to be disappointed."

"I know, sugarplum. If you feel you need to go…be careful. Mt. Crumpit is a high mountain, and is cold, even in summer."

"I know, Grandpa."

Finally, late that afternoon, Winnie found herself at the foot of Mt. Crumpit. She gulped nervously, staring up at the wave-shaped mountain. Snow sat on the summit all year round, and no vegetation was to be seen, save for fir trees.

Taking a deep breath, Winnie began climbing. She was wearing gloves with pads, and thickly-treaded boots, as well as Rudy's lucky coat. She gripped the rocks so tightly, her fingers began to ache, and she had to chant under her breath, "Don't look down. Don't look down."

When she was about halfway up the mountain, she looked out of the corner of her eye, nearly screaming. Whoville looked tiny down below, and she wasn't even at the top. Gulping, she turned her eyes back forward and continued to climb, keeping her eye out for any green-furred Who-like creatures.

When she was three-fourths up the mountain, to her surprise, Winnie found a large wooden door in the mountain, with a smaller door in the middle and at the bottom.

She scratched her dry orange hair under her red hat, raising a thin eyebrow. She slowly approached the door, glancing around. She raised her fist, and after hesitating, knocked three times. No one answered, but when she turned the knob, to her surprise, it turned easily. She pushed it open, finding the inside dark, and surprisingly warm.

Winnie took a flashlight out of her pocket and turned it on, and shined it inside. It looked just like a rocky cave, with stalactites and stalagmites. But there were some Who-made contraptions in there as well, both on the floor she was on and the floor below. When she shined the flashlight down, she saw some furniture. On the floor she was on, she saw a large generator faintly glowing.

It was eerily quiet. When one imagines an abandoned rocky cave, they imagine the echoes of water dripping and wind whistling through. But there was none of that. There was no sound at all, save for her own quiet breathing.

This cave wasn't abandoned after all. Someone was living here. But who? Who would be crazy enough to live up here? And how long did they live up here undetected?

Behind her, a gravelly voice asked, "Max, did you leave the door open?"

Winnie jumped at the voice. She heard a small bark. "Well, _I_ didn't! That means…there's a trespasser!"

Gasping, Winnie turned off her flashlight and hurried away from the edge of the top floor. She tripped over something small, which yelped in surprise. "Stupid dog!" She whispered sharply.

"Who's there?!" The voice growled, sounding very loud in the cave. "Show yourself!"

Winnie backed against the wall, panting in fright. "I hear your heavy breathing," The voice said, sounding like it was getting closer. "You better show yourself. Otherwise…it won't end well for you."

She gulped nervously, raising her flashlight in case she needed to use it as a weapon. She gasped when she felt something paw at her leg, and squealed in fright when the dog she tripped over barked.

"Found 'em, Maxie? Where are you?" The voice approached her.

"Go away!" She whispered sharply, nudging the dog with her foot. It growled at her, and she pulled her foot away quickly, accidentally slamming it against the rock wall behind her with a pained yelp.

"There you are!" A thin-fingered hand grabbed the front of her coat and spun her around, making her scream. Dropping the flashlight, Winnie immediately grabbed the arm connected to the hand. "What are you doing here?!" The voice whispered harshly, blasting her nose with nasty-smelling breath.

Coughing, Winnie said, "I-I'm just looking for someone."

"Hah! Fine excuse _that_ it is!" The voice laughed. "What Who would be up here?"

"He's not exactly a Who, he's more of a…a…"

"A what?!"

"Exactly. He's a What. I know it sounds strange and fictitious, but he has green fur, yellow eyes, and doesn't like Christmas."

The voice didn't say anymore, but he didn't release her either. He crouched down, picked up the flashlight Winnie had dropped, and switched it on. She immediately scrunched her eyes shut at the bright light aimed at her face.

The voice finally spoke, but not in an angry tone anymore. This new tone was surprised; very surprised, "…Winnie?"

* * *

**A/N This was a very long chapter, but I had fun writing it.**

**I had a bit of trouble writing the rhyming verse, so I hope it's satisfactory. I found a rhyming dictionary online, so that helps with choosing the words at least. I'm not Dr. Seuss, cut me some slack. I don't know what it tastes like, but just cut it anyway (reference from a YouTube Let's Play video ;))**

**I feel that after the aforementioned "Grinch incident," some parents would want their kids homeschooled, or privately tutored (you can guess who got the last choice)**

**I had fun describing Winnie's friends. I felt she should have at least a few friends, especially after Grinch disappeared for several years (I doubt he disappeared for fifty-three years, since the book said he put up with Christmas for that amount of time; he didn't look that old [then again, I'm not good at figuring out a person's age by just looking at a person] Besides, the line "for 53 years I've put up with it" was changed to "year after year I've put up with it" in the movie, so Grinch might be younger in the movie than in the book)**

**Even after twenty years, Winnie still doesn't like Martha XD Martha always dressed in...showy clothes, in the movie. Look at the outfit we see her in when she's introduced, for example. Maybe it's because I'm not a Who or something, but I wouldn't be dressed in that dress; I'd have a thick coat and pants, gloves, hat, and my Slytherin scarf. I hate the cold (plus, I haven't worn dresses, or any kind of skirt for that matter, in years) Winnie just thinks Martha's a bit too showy for her taste. Plus, Martha didn't seem too disappointed that she was dating the mayor either in the movie (she DID get annoyed when he mentioned having his tonsils removed twice, but then again, he probably blabbed about it over and over, so I'd understand if that got annoying) But she only broke up with him when Grinch came around at the end. I'm getting into a rant, so I'll just shut up about her. Sorry if I rant too much about her.**

**Am I the only one who gets a kick out of looking at tabloids at the supermarket in real life? It's just funny to see stories that you know are exaggerated or completely untrue. I'm not sure if it was a tabloid that had Grinch's picture in the film (which mirrored the famous Bigfoot picture, BTW) but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. The tabloid picture in this chapter is the first glimpse Whoville has of Grinch in the last ten years, though most of the Whos take it with a grain of salt.**

**I think the**** most fun I had writing this chapter was when the owner of the cave came in. You guys probably already know who it is though ;) They'll be revealed in the next chapter. I rhymed Winnie's last sentence on purpose because I thought it'd be perfect. Plus, the small conversation between herself and the voice before said last sentence (the three sentences) was borrowed from the original movie.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Iveya Jade's psycho mind 08: Thanks :D**

**lexigirl23: Sorry for not updating for so long. I was caught up with other things, including writer's block, as you suggested. Hope this was worth the wait, it was kinda hard getting back into this.**

* * *

Winnie was very confused. _How does he know my name? Who is this?_ She raised one hand to shield her face and cracked her eyes open.

Once her eyes were used to the bright light, she was able to see the creature that still had a hold of the front of her coat and shirt. He was taller than her—she knew this because her feet weren't touching the ground—and to her utter surprise, was covered in shaggy green fur. His face was the only thing that was bare, and had lighter green skin. His round eyes were yellow with blue irises, a thick mohawk-like fringe on his head, and a small dark-green mane around his neck.

Winnie dropped her arm, and her gray eyes widened in shock. _Is…is this real? Am I in a dream? Or…or is this...is it him?_ "…Grinch?" She whispered.

At the sound of her voice, he dropped her, causing her to crumple on the ground. He dropped the flashlight as well, and moved back a step.

Winnie sat up, rubbing her temple, which had hit the ground, picked up the flashlight, and looked up at her childhood friend.

He wasn't wearing any clothes—though his fur covered most of his body, save for his face—he was very tall, and had a potbelly.

She slowly stood up, still staring at him. Grinch scowled at her. "Why don't ya take a picture? It'll last lon—gah!"

Winnie had jumped forward and grabbed him in a tight hug, burying her face into his furry chest and mane. She almost didn't notice that he smelled badly of rotten food, dirty fur, and like the cave around them. "I missed you so much." She whispered, feeling tears begin to sting her eyes.

Grinch looked down at her in surprise. He hadn't recognized the Who-woman who trespassed into his home until she described the person she was searching for as having green fur, yellow eyes, and a dislike for Christmas. It finally clicked when he saw her in the light.

She had changed significantly since he last saw her twenty years prior. She still had her round, freckled cheeks, large gray eyes, button nose, and orange hair. What had changed, though, was that she had a small gap in her front top teeth, wore blue diamond-shaped earrings, and had a curvy figure. But she was also wearing the half-star necklace that she showed Grinch back when they were children. She also had a purple coat, dark-brown pants, thickly-treaded boots, padded gloves, and a red hat.

Grinch grabbed Winnie's shoulders and pushed her away a bit. "…What are you doing here?" He asked, eyes slightly furrowed.

"The tabloids back in Whoville had a fuzzy, grainy picture that looked like you." She explained. "So…I came here to see if it was true."

"Why?"

"…Because I missed you." She said again. "For twenty years, twenty long years, I thought I had lost my best friend forever."

The small dog barked, sounding confused. Winnie looked down at him. The dog was a small one, with short brown fur, long ears, and very expressional eyes.

"That's Max," Grinch said, releasing her shoulders. "The only other person up in this mountain, aside from this guy." He said, grinning proudly and jabbing his thumb in his chest.

Winnie crouched down, smiling. "Hi, Max. I'm glad you're keeping Grinch company."

Max barked a couple of times. Winnie stood back up. "And I'm sorry about trespassing. I honestly didn't think anyone was living here."

"Well, we're living here now." Grinch said.

"For twenty years?"

"It's been that long?"

"You didn't know?"

"Obviously not." He rolled his eyes. "Does anyone else remember me?"

"A few people, yes. But Mayor May-who forbids us from mentioning your name, especially around Christmas."

"Disgustus is mayor?!" Grinch exclaimed in anger.

"Unfortunately, yes." Winnie nodded, snickering in humor and delight that he remembered the nickname she had for their childhood bully. "And with Martha May at his side."

Grinch narrowed his eyes and curled his lip, revealing crooked yellow teeth. Deciding it would be wise to change the subject, Winnie turned to the nearby ledge. "So, you've been living in Mt. Crumpit for all the years you've been gone?"

"Yep." Grinch nodded proudly. "And I set this all up."

"All by yourself?" Winnie looked over her shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow. "How did you do that? Especially as an eight-year-old."

"I have my ways." He said, smiling widely. So widely, the corners of his mouth nearly reached his eyes.

"Don't do that." Winnie shuddered. "That is creepy."

"All the more reason to do it."

That caused the Who-woman to remember something: she was only visiting. She had a home back down in Whoville, along with a job, friends, and family. Grinch was all the way up on Mt. Crumpit, a very long, hard—not to mention terrifying—climb. "…I…I'm afraid you won't be able to do that all the time." She confessed. "I originally only came up here to see if the rumors were true."

The smile quickly faded from the furry creature's face. "And what if they weren't true?"

"I'd have gone back down to Whoville very quickly. I still don't like heights…or tall snowy mountains, for that matter." She said, rubbing her arms nervously.

Max cocked his head, whining once in confusion. "Her parents were killed in an avalanche." Grinch said.

Winnie furrowed her eyebrows at the abrupt, and somewhat cold, explanation. But then softened her brow. "You remembered?"

"I do now. So…you're gonna leave?"

Her chest felt like it had been punched from the inside. "You…do you _want_ me to leave?"

Max glared at Grinch, who shrugged, "I didn't say that. I actually don't mind the company of a familiar face. I was just wondering, since you had the plan of going back down to Whoville."

"Only if you weren't here. I didn't think of what to do if you were up here." _He might not want to go back down. He seems content being alone up here, save for Max._ "But that _does_ bring up a good question: how will I get back down? I don't really want to climb back the way I came."

"I got just the thing you need." Grinch grinned, wrapping a long arm around Winnie's shoulders. He led her back to the door they had come through. "Just stand there," He backed away until he stood next to a long piece of rope hanging from the ceiling. "And I'll do the rest."

"Would you mind if I came back in the future?" Winnie asked hopeful.

Grinch paused, pursing his lips in thought. Then, he shrugged, "Eh, why not?" Then, he grabbed the rope and gave it a good yank.

The floor underneath Winnie seemed to disappear, and she fell through with a scream of fright. She found herself sliding through a large, luminescent, stinky tunnel like it was a slip-and-slide. The fear faded away, and she actually found herself laughing, finding the slide fun.

After several minutes, she somehow found herself sliding up, and was shot out through a spout, and fell in a patch of grass.

Shaking herself off, Winnie turned to see what she popped out of. To her surprise, it was the Whoville garbage disposal. Sniffing her arm, she realized that her clothes had a slightly trashy odor to them.

"Eugh!" She groaned. "I guess today is laundry day."

* * *

Later that night, Winnie was sitting in her bed, reading a book, though her thoughts were drifting from the printed words. She leaned her head back against the headboard, thinking back on her day.

Grinch was still alive. And he had changed so much. No longer was he the mischievous green-furred child she had played and caused mischief with. He was older, obviously, and wasn't quite as innocent. He had a much more gruff personality, and at times seemed frightening and cold.

But she supposed that was because he had grown up in isolation, save for a dog. He didn't have his mothers to care for him, or herself to be his friend.

"And I suppose I myself changed since he last saw me." She sighed, closing her book and placing it on the bedside table. As she settled down in her bed and drifted off, a sudden thought came to mind that she had neglected to ask the Grinch: had he missed her as much as she missed him?

* * *

**A/N As I said in the latest chapter of "Fire Dragons don't Breathe Ice," I was distracted from writing by writer's block and joining an art-related group on DeviantART (my submission for a roleplay group is being looked over, as well as probably dozens of others, so I may/may not get in another one as well) I also had a bit of trouble getting back into this story (mainly trying to make sure the Grinch was in character; I may need to watch the movie again ^^;) But I hope this was worth the wait.**

**I felt it would be a good idea to hold up on the "complete" description of Winnie until we meet the Grinch again (I gave a vague description of her in the last chapter) mostly detailing things that had changed since she was a kid. You can actually see what she looks like as an adult in my DeviantART gallery (link to my DA Page is in my FanFiction profile) It depicts her as later in the movie, but it shouldn't matter; especially since it's a few months old.**

**I don't know about any of you, but I find the Grinch's wide "eye-to-eye" smile to be creepy, even in the cartoon version. It's even creepier in live action. In one of the special features, it actually shows that the corners of Jim Carrey's mouth were stretched a bit higher. Even in its original form, it was creepy. So, I thought it'd be funny to make Winnie wary of the Grinch Grin (not really a "true" grin, but the name is catchy enough)**

**Does anyone know how Grinch would get down to Whoville? I'm not being stupid, I just figure he wouldn't climb down the mountain every time; plus, the one time he goes down the chute was when Max pulled the rope (when he did that, I laughed and said "I love that dog!") But the first time he went to town, Max was with him. So does he have another compartment he goes down through, or does he simply climb down the mountain? Maybe I missed something in the movie, since I haven't watched it for several months.**

**I'll try not to take so long with the updates. I appreciate you all being patient with this and FDdBI. There are days when I don't feel up to writing, even without writer's block. So please continue to be patient, that's all I ask.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Iveya Jade's psycho mind 08: I'm glad you like it :D**

**lexigirl23: I did have writer's block, and was a bit busy with other stuff (real life has been a bit hectic in recent months) But I was able to finish this one.**

**TheBeldam27: I actually do enjoy putting deleted scenes in my stories, especially if they'll provide more story to the story. One problem, though, is I only have the regular DVD of The Grinch, and it only has three deleted scenes: where Grinch had fun with the marble, Cindy got in trouble at school, and when Grinch made the police chief sleepwalk into his closet. But I was able to find the rest on YouTube (even though they were video-recorded with a handheld device at the TV, but they seem pretty clear to understand) Unfortunately, I won't be able to do the present passing scene like you suggested, since, in my opinion, it'll bring back bad memories, similar to the shaver. But I'll definitely add deleted scenes if I feel they'll do good in this :)**

* * *

The day after, as soon as Winnie stepped into Terri's Terrific Tacos, she was jumped by Rudy, Helga, and Jamie. "Well?" Helga asked.

"Well…what?" Winnie asked, genuinely confused.

"Was he up there?"

It then clicked: they wanted to know if Grinch was up in Mt. Crumpit. "Um…well…" She rubbed the back of her neck, wondering if she should tell the truth or not. She felt if she told the truth, someone would overhear, and would go up to Mt. Crumpit and try to find Grinch. Plus, she didn't know if he wanted to be kept a secret or not.

But on the other hand, there were already rumors that he was up there. She had told him so. So it wouldn't be much more different. Most Whos wouldn't climb up the treacherous mountain even in the summer.

Winnie held up a finger, telling her friends to wait for her response. Once she got her food, she took them to the farthest corner in the restaurant, away from the other customers.

"Did you even go up there?" Rudy asked.

"Yes, I did." Winnie nodded, unwrapping her taco.

"What did you find?" Jamie asked.

"There was a large door in the mountain near the summit. I knocked, but no one answered. So, for some reason," She rolled her eyes at this. "I opened the door and stepped inside."

"Was it like a cave?"

"What do you mean, 'was it like a cave'?" Helga rolled her eyes at her older sister. "A room inside a mountain would be a cave."

"Why was there a door then? Caves don't normally have doors." Jamie pointed out.

"It looked like a cave, alright." Winnie said, taking a bite out of her taco, chewing and swallowing. "It had stalactites, stalagmites, and everything. But…there were furniture on a lower level. And a generator."

"So someone was living there?" Rudy asked.

Winnie nodded, drinking her bubbly soda. "I had my flashlight out since it was dark. Then, I heard someone talking from the door, and a dog barking once. I switched off the light and backed against the wall, tripping over the dog in the process. And the voice was nearing me, searching for me."

All three of her friends stared wide-eyed at her. "Did the voice…did he catch you?" Jamie whispered.

"He found me, yes. He actually grabbed me by my collar and lifted me off of the ground—he's pretty strong." She shuddered in remembrance.

"Was he angry?"

"He was furious. He asked what I was doing there, and didn't believe me when I said I was looking for someone. I told him that he had green fur, yellow eyes, and didn't like Christmas."

"What happened next?" Helga asked, tearing a napkin in pieces in nervousness.

"He picked up the flashlight, which I had dropped as I was lifted into the air, and switched it on, blinding me. Then…he said my name."

If it were possible, Rudy, Helga, and Jamie's eyes widened further. "He knew who you were?" The red-head asked in a whisper.

"And I knew him." Winnie smiled. "It was Grinch."

Her friends stared at her until they had to blink. "You're serious?"

Winnie nodded. "Did he look different?" Jamie asked.

"Obviously, he was taller—taller than me, actually. The hair on his head was a bit longer, he didn't wear any clothes, though his fur covered him well," She blushed at this. "He had a darker-colored mane around his neck—"

"Like a lion, or like a small feather boa?" Rudy asked.

"Like a small feather boa." Winnie answered. "And he had a potbelly. He had a small brown dog with long ears with him, who was called Max."

"And you said he recognized you?" Jamie asked.

"He did after I told him who I was looking for, and after he shined the light on my face."

"How long did you stay up there?"

"Only like, five minutes I think."

"How did you get down?" Helga asked, taking a swig of her drink. "You didn't climb back down, did you?"

"No, I slid down a chute."

"A garbage chute?"

"Not all chutes are for garbage." Jamie rolled her eyes. "What about mail chutes?"

Winnie was secretly glad that she didn't have to tell them she slid down the garbage chute. She was convinced that there was a trace of the smell on her clothes, even after they went through a full cycle in the washer and dryer.

"So, are you going to go back up there?" Rudy asked, pushing her round glasses up.

"He seemed…indifferent about it."

"What do you mean?"

"I asked if I could visit in the future; he just shrugged and said 'eh, why not?'"

"Maybe he doesn't want visitors?" Helga asked. "After all, he's been alone for so long, save for the dog, he might like the peace and solitude."

Winnie stared down at her half-empty glass of bubbly soda. She had given that a thought, but was so blinded by the fact she had found her best friend, and he was near…more or less, she had been selfish enough to think she could drop in whenever she pleased. She wasn't given a chance to ask for a thorough answer before being dropped down the chute. Maybe he really did want to be alone?

Rudy patted her best friend's shoulder. "Wait a few days before going back. You don't have to go every day."

"Especially since it's not easy to get up there," Jamie added. "Far as I know, there's not a ski lift that goes up the mountain. The only way to climb up is to…well, climb up."

"_It's the cliiimb. Always gonna be another mount—_sorry." Helga blushed when her sister elbowed her in the arm.

Glancing at the watch on her wrist, Winnie's eyes widened. "Oh dear! I need to hurry up and eat! My lunchbreak's almost over!" She shoved the rest of her half-eaten taco into her mouth, chewed and swallowed, and downed the rest of her drink.

"There's no fire," Rudy said, eyebrows raised. "It's not like Freddy's gonna fire you for returning a bit late."

"Don't wanna take a chance. Thanks for the talk girls." Before leaving, she whispered, "Try to keep this under tabs. The mayor already hates hearing the G-word. If he hears Grinch is still in close proximity, I'm afraid he might do something…drastic."

All three girls made zipping motions over their lips, nodding with winks and smiles. "Thanks." Winnie grinned before running out the door and to Fix-it-Fred's Junkshop.

* * *

"I'm here! I'm here! I'm not late!" She exclaimed, bursting into the door.

Glancing at the clock, her boss, a large man with brown hair and a black bowtie, Fred, said, "You're half a minute late, but I'll let it off since you're one of my best employees." He smirked with a wink.

"Thanks, boss," Winnie sighed, pulling on her hat and oil-stained apron. "I was talking with my friends at Terri's Tacos, and I guess the time got away from me." She trotted out of the employee lounge and to her station, where she had a pile of broken appliances to fix.

As she picked apart a corded phone to see why it wasn't ringing like it was supposed to, she began hiccupping, as she always did when she gulped down food or drink in a hurry. Rolling her eyes, she held her breath as she worked. After a couple of minutes, one of her co-workers called out, "Whit! You've got a visitor!"

"What is this, a hospital?" Winnie muttered, rolling her eyes. Glancing up, she saw it was her ex-boyfriend: Aaron B. Benson-Who.

Aaron was the boy who found Winnie crying in the snow after Grinch ran away twenty years prior. When they became young adults, they started dating for a few years before Winnie broke it off. Aaron was still a little sore about it—not in a bad way, but he was still pining for her—and would sometimes try to win her back.

He still had his shaggy brown hair and handsome blue eyes. He had a small beard that connected with his sideburns, a pointed Who nose, and enjoyed hunting occasionally. He was charming and friendly, and could be persistent if he wanted to be, in both good and bad ways. And he had a somewhat short temper as well, though he was able to control it to some degree.

"Hi, Winnie." He grinned. "You look busy."

"Exactly," Winnie sighed. Between her hiccups, which hadn't gone away, and the fact that her work was being interrupted, she was starting to get irritated. "What do *hic* you want?"

* * *

**A/N I wasn't able to write much because of writer's block and hectic real-life events. But I was able to write this (hopefully I'll be able to write the next chapter for "Fire Dragons Don't Breathe Ice")**

**A large majority of this chapter was Winnie telling her friends about finding Grinch. I was planning on having all four of them visit him, but I eventually threw that idea away, feeling it didn't fit. Winnie will visit him again, but on her own. The time her friends will meet Grinch will be at the Whobilation (spoilers maybe?) though that won't be for a while.**

**I find it interesting how Grinch went from wearing clothes when he was little to rarely wearing to them as an adult, save for his cloak, his Whobilation clothes, and his iconic Santa Clause costume. I figure he would grow out of his clothes, and might not find wearable clothes in the garbage. Plus, when you live in a high mountain, and don't have visitors or neighbors, you'd get used to not wearing clothes. At least he has fur everywhere except his face XD**

**Remember when I said Aaron would be a recurring character? This will be his role: the ex-boyfriend who wants to get back with his ex. He might come off as annoying, but I'll try and not make him obnoxious.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

* * *

"You're cute when you have the hiccups." Aaron chuckled.

Flaring her nostrils in irritation, Winnie asked again, slowly, "What do you want?"

"I can't come and visit?"

"Not while *hic* I'm at work."

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go catch a movie—"

"This isn't a-*hic* another date attempt *hic* is it?"

"…Maybe?" Aaron shrugged sheepishly.

Sighing heavily, Winnie said, "Aaron, I've told you multiple *hic* times: I don't want to get together with you again, or any-*hic*-more."

"Winnie, I said I was sor—"

"You can say it as many times as you want, and my answer will still be the same. Now, if you'll excuse me," She turned her nose up. "I have a telephone to fix." She continued to tinker with it, finally finding the problem.

Aaron crossed his arms and leaned back against a stack of crates. "You don't have to have this job, you know."

"I like my job." Winnie huffed, taking out a part of the phone and screwing the replacement in. She had just realized her hiccups disappeared. "Besides, what other job is there?"

Before Aaron could answer, the phone began ringing loudly, making both of them jump. Winnie quickly replaced the cover and placed the phone on the receiver, silencing it. "Now, get out of here, and don't let me catch you again."

Aaron looked like he was going to protest, but upon seeing Winnie's boss raising an eyebrow at him, he quickly left with a sigh.

"Sorry about that, boss." Winnie said.

"Hey, at least the phone's wor—"

"No, I mean about Aaron." She corrected, gathering up the telephone in her arms. "So…should I use the new phone to call its owner?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Why? Its problem was just that it wasn't ringing." One of her co-workers pointed out.

"…I guess that's true." She shrugged. She set the telephone back on the table and called the customer with a different phone on a wall. "Hello? Mr. Lou Who? Your phone is repaired. Yes, it's ringing just dandily. You'll just need to come and pick it up…oh, you'd rather I take it over myself? Umm…" She glanced at Fred, who nodded firmly. "Alright, I just need your address." She pressed the phone against her ear and cheek with her shoulder as she wrote the address on a scrap piece of paper. "Yes, I have it. I'll be there as soon as I can. You're welcome, Mr. Lou Who. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone, placed the newly-repaired telephone in a box, and closed it up. "How long'll you be gone?" Fred asked.

"Probably twenty minutes, maybe half an hour if Mr. Lou Who wants to speak; maybe even longer if his wife wishes to serve tea. But I'll get back as soon as I can."

"You do that."

Gathering up the box and written address, Winnie walked out of her workplace and down the sidewalk. She glanced around Whoville as she walked, glancing at the paper every now and then.

Whoville wasn't as bright, cheery, and colorful as it was around Christmas during other seasons, it was still a lovely place to live. She sometimes missed the seemingly-permanently-bright lights and hustle-and-bustle of New Who City, but since she found out Grinch was still nearby, albeit in the mountain, Winnie was glad that she stayed.

But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in Whoville. First, there was the fact that the school bully was mayor. Augustus May-Who hadn't changed much, aside from having gray hair; his attitude was also jollier, even Winnie had to admit. But she still knew him as Disgustus, the portly bully that had fun picking on her and Grinch in school. He was the reason he had run away.

Whenever they met up on the streets—Winnie often went out of her way to avoid him as often as she could—he would have a fake smile for her, and would talk to her in a patronizing manner. If he managed to catch her when no one was around, he would call her Horsey, which always made her clench her fists in anger.

While Winnie knew how to keep her temper, she wasn't afraid to smack someone if they were being rude to her. She had a small reputation of having so strong a slap, it later bruised. But she made sure to not do it very much. She didn't want anyone, much less Disgustus, to make her out to be a monster.

Soon, she found the address. Shifting the box into one arm, she knocked on the door. A tall, thin Who with glasses answered. "Yes?" He asked.

"Hello, Mr. Lou Who." Winnie greeted. "I have your telephone right here."

"Marvelous!" He clapped. "If you don't mind, could you come in and connect it?"

"Certainly." She nodded, walking into the house.

In the living room were two red-headed Who boys playing with cars and planes. They looked up as Winnie and presumably their father walked in. "Who's she, Dad?" One asked.

"This is…I'm sorry, I don't know your name." He said sheepishly.

"Winnie. Winnie Whit."

"This is Ms. Whit. She's the one who repaired the phone. Now she's going to get it back to working order."

The boys stared at her in astonishment. "But you're a girl!" One boy said, slightly confused.

"Drew," Mr. Lou Who reprimanded firmly. "You mustn't be rude. She's the one who fixed our phone. Apologize."

"…I'm sorry." He muttered.

Chuckling once through her nose, Winnie set the box on the floor near where Mr. Lou Who told her the phone always sat. She took the phone out, sat it on the table nearby, and began plugging in wires.

The boys stood up, their toys forgotten, and walked over to watch her. "Dad said you fixed the phone?" One boy asked.

"Yep." She nodded.

"So it'll ring now?"

"Yep. It rang where I worked." Soon, Winnie was finished. Dusting her hands off, she stood up straight. "Alright, Mr. Lou Who, that should do it."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Whit. It was very annoying to have to guess when the phone was ringing."

"It was nothing."

"Would you be able to stay for a few minutes? My wife just put the kettle on, and she would probably enjoy hearing about the woman who fixed our phone."

Truthfully, Winnie wanted to go back to work, and then go home. But she told her boss that she might be gone for twenty to thirty minutes, saying offhandedly that Mrs. Lou Who might want her to stay for tea. So, she answered, "I can only stay for ten or fifteen minutes."

"Sounds good." Mr. Lou Who nodded, leading her to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Lou Who was fixing a kettle of tea. A baby girl Who was sitting in her high chair, with two tiny pigtails on her head.

"Betty? This is the woman who fixed the telephone." Mr. Lou Who introduced.

"Oh, did you?!" Betty exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "You have no idea how grateful we are! That darn phone wouldn't tell us when someone was calling. Poor Lou was beginning to tear his hair."

"It was no trouble, Mrs. Lou Who." Winnie shook her head. She turned to the baby, who was staring at her, chewing her crackers, and winked with a smile. The baby gurgled with glee.

"Well, you've already met the boys, Drew and Stu. They're twelve-year-old twins; and this is little Cindy Lou." Mr. Lou Who chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair. "She's turning one in a few weeks."

"I see." Winnie nodded. "Well, as I said before, I'm Winnie Whit." She sat in one of the chairs at the table. "I work at Fix-it-Fred's, which was where the telephone was doctored on, as my boss calls it."

"It fits." Mrs. Lou Who nodded approvingly, pouring three cups of tea. "How do you take your tea, dear?"

"Um, one sugar, please."

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Luka Whit, would you?"

"He's my grandfather. So, I suppose I'm related." She shrugged with a slight chuckle.

"He always talks about you when I deliver mail to the retirement home. He said you were quite the mischievous girl."

"Yeah, I was. I got into my fair share of trouble."

"I hope Cindy Lou behaves better than the boys at least." Mrs. Lou Who sighed, glancing at Cindy, who giggled and kicked her legs. "They're always up to something."

"Well, I wasn't always mischievous on my own," Winnie said, sipping her tea. "Me and my best friend were always 'up to something' as you put it."

"Who was this friend?" Mrs. Lou Who asked curiously.

Winnie weighed her answers very carefully. She still wanted to keep Grinch's presence a secret; they probably wouldn't even believe her if she said her best friend was a furry green creature who disliked Christmas—she wondered if he still held that dislike, and if it had evolved into hatred. She wouldn't blame him. Between her parents dying a few days before the holiday, her best friend disappearing the day before, and the overhype the Whos put into the holiday, she had lost a good chunk of her Christmas spirit as well.

She often had to decide if she wanted to go to the Whobilation these days.

"He was a great friend, albeit somewhat grouchy, but we did everything together."

"Does he still live here?"

"I'm afraid not. He…moved away, when we were kids." _He lives up in Mt. Crumpit._

_I wonder if he would object to another visit tomorrow…_

* * *

**A/N I have a story behind why Winnie and Aaron broke up (I always have to dramatize things, don't I? X) Like I said, it makes things interesting) but that won't be for a while. **

**At first, the owner of the ringless phone wasn't going to be named, but I decided it would be interesting to make it the Lou Whos; AKA, Cindy Lou's family. I'm not sure how old the boys are (I'm not even sure if they're twins at all) so I guestimated that they were in their late teens. Cindy, for sure, was six years old (not "no older than two") So, since she's a year old here, that means the main story takes place five years from now ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

* * *

Winnie was unable to even try to visit Grinch again the next day, however. She had to stay at work all day to help one of her co-workers fix a sub-zero chillibrator. She got home late, and didn't think about trying to climb up Mt. Crumpit for the rest of the night.

Then, the following day was when she visited Luka at the retirement home. She then decided to tell him about finding Grinch up in Mt. Crumpit, since he was able to keep a secret. "Besides, if I let it slip, they'll think it's the ramblings of an old man." He joked.

When Winnie asked if she should try and visit him again, saying she had given him several days of "alone time." "_More_ alone time?" Luka laughed. "He's had twenty years of alone time. Besides, what about you? You two were the best of friends when you were children. You were like two peas in a pod. You deserve to spend time with him again."

"He just didn't seem very pleased that I had come." Winnie shrugged, clutching a mug of still-steaming hot cocoa, her grandfather's favorite treat.

"If you were alone for years, and someone barged in, wouldn't _you_ be a little cranky too? Besides, if he remembered all the good times you two had, he probably misses you too. Didn't he also say you could visit him again?"

"Kinda. I asked if I could, and he said, 'why not?' in a sort of…dismissive voice."

"Winnie, you deserve to spend time with him." Luka said firmly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "And you both should catch up. You've spent twenty years without your best friend. I know it must have been tough."

Winnie slowly smiled, and nodded, "Alright, Grandpa. I'll try again tomorrow, after work."

"Good luck, sugarplum."

* * *

The next day, however, Winnie learned that because she had done a good job fixing the fridge—which apparently belonged to one of the close employees of Mayor May-Who—and was given a large tip, she was given the day off. To her, this meant she would be able to visit Grinch earlier than initially planned.

She brushed her dry orange hair, put her blue diamond earrings in her ears, and adjusted her necklace, brushing her fingertips over the half-star shaped pendant. She wondered if he still had the other half of the necklace, or lost it, or even threw it away. Tears stung her eyes briefly at the thought of him throwing away a necklace that symbolized their friendship, but brushed them away.

Pulling her hair back in a high ponytail, she grabbed her own coat—a light-brown one with a green patch on the left shoulder—and stepped out of her house.

As she walked down the sidewalk, receiving strange looks from her holding a coat in the summer, she got a peculiar feeling; one that told her that someone was watching her. She paused and looked around, but saw no one looking her way for longer than a quick glance or two. Furrowing her eyebrows, she continued on her way, glancing around as she did.

The feeling didn't go away, however. Instead, it strengthened, and evolved into a feeling that she was being followed. Winnie paused and looked over her shoulder again. She didn't see anyone looking suspicious, and took a few more steps, pretending to brush it off. Then, she quickly spun around in place, holding up her fists to anticipate a fight.

She caught something darting behind a building. It looked like a tall person with a brown cloak, with the hood draped over its face. She vaguely saw the person's face, which didn't look like a real Who. She decided it was a mask.

Scowling, Winnie continued down the sidewalk, glancing back to see the figure continue to dart behind buildings, parked cars, or large crates. Getting an idea, she turned down an alleyway, which led out of Whoville. As the noises of the town disappeared, she heard the quiet steps of her pursuer.

Once she was in an area where there weren't any places to hide, she spun around, jumped forward, and slapped her pursuer across the cloaked face. He fell to the ground, yelling in surprise, confirming he was a male. "Who do you think you are, following me?!" Winnie snapped angrily. "What do you want?"

The figure staggered to his feet, rubbing his face. She noticed the sleeve had fallen a little, but instead of bare skin, or even a long-sleeved shirt, there was green fur on the arm.

With eyes so wide she was sure they would pop out, Winnie muttered, "…Grinch? Is that you?"

Knowing he was caught, the pursuer pulled his hood back, and pulled off the mask, revealing a green, thickly-furred head. "You've got a real strong hand, Winnie." He remarked, rubbing his cheek, which was beginning to turn red.

"What did you expect? You were following me! In a cloak, no less!"

"What did _you_ expect? If I didn't wear a cloak, everyone would recognize me!"

Taking a deep breath, Winnie asked calmly, "Why are you even down here? I thought you'd rather stay up in Mt. Crumpit."

"Well, it's been a few days since you visited, and I was wondering if you'd come up again."

"I was actually going up there when I realized I was being stalked."

"So I decided to come down myself."

Winnie slowly smiled, her angry mood disappearing. "Aww, you missed me!" She giggled.

"No I didn't!" Grinch quickly denied, crossing his arms and glaring. After a few minutes, he grumbled, "Alright, maybe a little.

She chuckled a couple of times, lacing her fingers behind her back. "So…would you like to come back to our house? I have the day off from work."

"Fine by me." He uncrossed his arms, pulled his mask back on, and pulled the hood of his cloak back over his head.

"You know, I find that mask creepier than your actual face." Winnie remarked.

"Now _that's_ definitely a compliment."

She rolled her eyes, and then asked, "Is Max back at home?"

"Aww, you remembered him!" Grinch squealed, imitating her earlier exclamation, before quickly sobering, "And no, he came down with me."

Almost as if on cue, Max came trotting from the alleyway the two had come out of earlier, jumping up on Winnie's leg and barking happily.

"Hi, Max," She smiled, patting his head. "It's good to see you too." She nudged him off of her leg and said, "Well, follow me, boys."

"You're not going back out in the open, are you?" Grinch asked.

"Of course not! What do you take me for, an idiot? We're going _behind_ the open." She winked. Gesturing for them to follow, she walked behind the buildings, held up high in confidence. Grinch and Max followed behind, glancing through the alleyways and cracks formed by the buildings.

Soon, they reached Winnie's house. "Say, isn't this your grandparents' house?" Grinch asked.

"Yes, it was. But after Grandma died, and Grandpa went to live in the retirement home, they gave it to me." Winnie explained. Glancing around in case anyone was watching, she hurried to the door, and opened it. Grinch tiptoed into the house, taking giant exaggerated steps, making her roll her eyes and chuckle. Max trotted into the house, and she closed the door after them.

"You guys already know the layout of the house," She said, hanging her coat back up. "Nothing's changed much. May I take your coat?" She smirked.

"Here ya go." Grinch pulled the cloak off over his head and tossed it onto her head. Just like when she first found him in Mt. Crumpit, he wore nothing under that cloak but thick green fur.

Upon being smothered by the foul-smelling fabric, Winnie immediately pulled it off and dropped it on the ground, coughing and waving the air in front of her nose. "Do you ever take baths? Or at least a shower?"

"Nah," He shrugged. "Not much."

"Is there no running water in Mt. Crumpit?"

"There's a pool of water where I can draw a bath…I just don't do much drawing." He shrugged again, smirking.

"It kinda shows." She muttered. "What do you eat? Unless there are grocery stores up in Mt. Crumpit."

Grinch threw back his head, laughing loudly. "Good one, Winnie." He chuckled. "The only 'grocery store' up there is the garbage dump."

"Garbage dump?!" She exclaimed both incredulously and in disgust.

"The garbage chute ends up right next-door to me. Max and I," He patted the dog's head. "Will take a couple of garbage bags inside to sift through and find food."

Winnie held a hand over her mouth, wondering if she herself was turning a shade of green. "You don't come down to get good groceries?"

He laughed again, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Winnie, you saw me today. I had a cloak like I was the Grim Reaper. Could you imagine me walking down the aisles, picking up bread and milk?"

She couldn't help thinking about a Grim Reaper-like figure, walking around the grocery store with a basket over his wrist, looking at a loaf of bread. She laughed, answering, "That would actually look kinda funny." She looked aside at him with a sly expression. "If you had a long scythe as well, it'd be funny to see the Whos' faces."

Blinking once, Grinch laughed along with her. "Re-remember when we were kids, and you taught me how to use spitballs?"

"We would sit up in the jungle-house and attack Disgustus with them." Winnie snickered, remembering the bewildered expressions on his face when he couldn't figure out where the spitballs were coming from.

Once the friends calmed down, Grinch remembered something Winnie had told him several days ago. "You said Disgustus is mayor?"

The smile on Winnie's face quickly disappeared. "Yes, he is. He has been for a few years now. My friends think the voting might have been rigged. I think his father had some influence."

"Hmph." Grinch huffed, crossing his arms and collapsing into a chair in the living room. "I still think he's nothing but a bully."

"You're not far from the truth." Winnie sighed, sitting in a chair across from her friend. "He puts on this façade of friendliness and care for Whoville, but he always has this tone of patronize when he talks to me, still calls me by that awful nickname, and has banned the use of your name in Whoville, especially during Christmas."

This time, instead of laughing, Grinch got a look of confusion. "…Why the heck would he do that?"

"I dunno," She shrugged. "Probably doesn't want to be reminded of you."

"Didn't you say Martha May's with him?" He asked, scowling lightly.

Sighing softly, she nodded. "Yes. She's always on his arm, flaunting her showy clothes and status." She mocked, before leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms, looking not unlike a pouting child. Grinch chuckled at her expression, making her smirk in amusement.

* * *

**A/N I know I took a while to update, but I've been in a spout of writer's block, and got sick last week (nothing major, just a cold, plus laryngitis, which is always fun) But I found time to write the next chapter; I'll try and work on my GotG story next.**

**I was originally going to have Winnie go up Mt. Crumpit again, but decided to do something different: have Grinch go down to Whoville. If you remember-or have never seen the movie-when Grinch goes down to Whoville in the movie, he wears a large burlap cloak, and a goofy-looking Who mask (which may or may not look creepy to some, especially if you have a fear of clowns) I figured that's not the first time he's done that, so I had him do that in this.**

**I actually have no clue if there's running water in Grinch's cave in Mt. Crumpit. I scrutinized what little we saw of his cave in the film, and didn't see anything that would look like running water, much less plumbing. So, I decided there's a pool of water in there (I think if he wanted a shower, or at least a bath, he could install one; he managed to make all his other furniture, unless it was there when he went up as a kid) I'm not a spelunker, nor do I have knowledge of caves, so pardon me.**

**In case you didn't see my journal on DeviantART (I have the same username as here) I now have a Twitter account (I actually made it near the beginning of this month) and will tweet when there's a new story chapter on there. So, if you're on Twitter, and follow me/my stories anonymously, you can see when there's a new chapter on there.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Guest: No problem :) I'm glad it did. I thought it'd be a nice change of pace. I'm feeling much better (after one month XD) thank you.**

* * *

"So, what're _you_ up to?" Grinch asked while Winnie made their favorite childhood lunches: a glass of milk, and a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato for Winnie, and a glass of water and an onion and cheese sandwich for him.

"Nothing much," Winnie shrugged, "I work at the Fix-it-Fred Junkshop, fixing electronics."

"Really?" Grinch raised his eyebrows.

"Yep," she nodded proudly, carrying their sandwich plates to the table, and went back for the beverages. She took out a leftover slice of cooked meat from her sub-zero chillibrator, and set it in a paper plate on the ground for Max. "I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. I fixed a telephone that wasn't ringing just yesterday. I helped my co-workers fix a sub-zero chillibrator that was keeping food hot instead of cold before trying to go up to Mt. Crumpit again."

"Interesting," Grinch said. His chin was in his hand, and he tapped his long fingers against his face. Despite his slumped-over position, he listened to what Winnie said.

"Grandpa is at the retirement home, though you already know that. He's in a wheelchair."

"Does he know about me?"

Winnie froze, holding her sandwich in midair. She slowly set her sandwich back on her plate, and answered, "Yes, he does. But the staff there will think it old-Who banter if he accidentally says something."

"Hmm," he nodded, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

Relieved that he wasn't angry, Winnie started eating her own sandwich. "Does anyone else know?"

"I…I told my friends," she confessed. "They were the ones who encouraged me to climb Mt. Crumpit…well, after I decided to do so after seeing the tabloid. And they wanted to know what happened the day after. They promised to not tell; they know how to keep secrets. Besides, if they accidentally say anything, Mayor _Disgustus_ will shot the 'rumors' down."

Grinch had furrowed his eyebrows when she said she told her friends, but relaxed when she explained why. He then began chuckling, "I guess I'm a celebrity right up with Bigfoot!"

Winnie smiled with both relief and amusement, and nodded, "Yep. And I figured you'd want to keep it that way. Disgustus too. I'm sure he wants to forget about you. He never did like me or you."

Grinch laughed a few times. "You rhymed thrice."

"_You_ rhymed twice," Winnie shot back with a smirk.

"So…no one else know about my presence up in the mountain?"

"Not another Who-soul."

"None of your other…friends?"

"Nope," Winnie shook her head. "Other than the girls, I don't have many friends..." she mumbled something under her breath.

"What's that?" Grinch asked, holding a furry hand to his ear. "Couldn't catch that."

"I said, erm…there's one other, 'friend,'" she used quotation marks, "who's also an…ex-boyfriend."

He raised one eyebrow at that. "Why so secretive?"

"Not really secretive, just not eager to remember," she shrugged, chewing more of her sandwich. "But believe me, he doesn't know about you. I don't think he even knew about you when we were kids."

"Who is he? He might ring a bell."

"I don't think so, but his name is Aaron B. Bensonwho."

Humming in thought, and curling his index finger over his lips, Grinch shrugged, "Nope, never heard of him."

"Told you," Winnie smiled, sipping her milk.

"How come you're not 'eager to remember' him? What'd he do?"

"I'd rather not say," she shook her head. "Bad memories."

Grinch let it go on the outside, but continued to ponder on the situation. If he found out that this Aaron B. Bensonwho hurt his best friend, he would make sure his life would be miserable. He had his ways. He didn't stay up in Mt. Crumpit for twenty years straight. And when he did come down to Whoville, it wasn't a cheerful visit. He brought tricks and pranks with him, much like Santa Clause brought presents with him on Christmas.

Remembering the holiday that had caused the most embarrassment of his life made the green-furred creature grit his teeth and growl. "What's wrong?" Winnie asked, concerned.

"Nothing much," he shook his head, "bad holiday memories."

"Ah," she nodded, "a certain wintery holiday? I don't blame you. I haven't had many cheerful memories myself."

At this, his eyebrows shot up. "But I thought you loved that holiday. You were even excited for the Whob'lation."

Chuckling at how she pronounced it when she was little, she answered, "ever since Mom and Dad died before Christmas, and you left, the holiday just seemed less special. Not to mention the fact that everyone else treats it like it's a sacred holiday, and are basically turning it into a commercial, come-spend-your-money day," she shook her head with a sigh. "I haven't had the energy, or the urge, to attend the Whobilation anymore."

Trying to come up with an excuse to change the subject, Grinch suddenly said, "Since you don't care for mountain-climbing, wanna know an easier way for getting up to Mt. Crumpit?"

Winnie immediately perked up. "Of course I do! I hated climbing up Mt. Crumpit last time! But I didn't see a ski lift or anything like that."

Grinch laughed at that. "Nope, no ski lift. When Max and I head back home, we'll bring you along and show you."

Though she deflated at the thought of her best friend leaving, she nodded.

* * *

That time came sooner than she thought. Before Winnie knew it, Grinch was leading her and Max behind the buildings to the garbage chute. "_This_ is the way to get up the mountain quickly?" She asked incredulously.

"How else do you think the garbage gets up there?" Grinch asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

Blinking, Winnie slapped her hand against her forehead. "Not sure why I didn't think about it."

Her furry green friend simply laughed and clapped her shoulder. "I'm not gonna like the way it'll make my clothes stink though," she remarked. "I _can_ visit you, right?" She then asked, silently hoping he would say yes.

Pursing his lips and humming, Grinch nodded, "Yeah, you can. I like you, as tragic as it sounds," he rolled the R and laid the back of his hand across his eyes in a dramatic fashion, making Winnie laugh, "you were the only one who seemed to remember me fondly. That would classify you as my friend, I suppose," he tipped her chin up with one finger so she faced him.

Returning his smirk, Winnie corrected him, "_Best_ friend. You were my best friend."

Nodding, Grinch let her go, and popped open the chute. He climbed in, followed by Max; because there two doors under his feet that opened only when the button was pressed, he was able to stand in the chute, which reached up to his chest. "I guess this won't be the last we'll see each other?" he asked.

"Not until you get tired of me," Winnie promised.

"I couldn't get tired of you. I forgot how much fun you were," he slapped the button, and quick as a flash, he and Max disappeared down the chute, letting the lid fall down with a loud crash.

Winnie's eyes followed the estimated-path of the pip up to Mt. Crumpit. She couldn't see the dump from where she was, but as sure as she knew her own name, she knew he was up there. After a few seconds, she turned around, and was on her way home, unable to get rid of the smile on her face.

_The two friends had found each other at last,  
Both of them recalling fun memories from the past.  
Winnie was happier than she had been in years;  
You could easily tell by the grin that spread from ear to ear._

_They both had changed, that was for sure,  
But to neither of them did it occur,  
That their friendship had grown even stronger,  
Which would be greatly needed for the future._

* * *

**A/N I actually had almost the whole chapter written already, but took a break from it in order to think of how to finish it. It was after the chapter break, which I whipped up in twenty minutes (the majority of it being trying to figure out the rhymes at the end) There are times when I'll leave a chapter half-written for a few weeks before finishing it, this being one of those times.**

**This is kind of filler, just two friends having lunch and talking about the good ol' days. Probably kinda boring for some people, but trust me, thing's will get interesting in the next chapter or two.**

**Not sure if anyone noticed, but I changed "refrigerator" in the last chapter to "sub-zero chillibrator" (sounds like something Doofenshmirtz would make and name) because that seems to be what refrigerators are called in the movie (as evidenced by Grinch's prank call to Mr. Lou Who) so I decided to keep that canon.**

**I might have said last chapter, but I don't think Grinch's trip down to Whoville in the movie was the only one. It seemed like he used the cloak before; the only reason for said cloak, in my mind, was going down to Whoville. And I'm pretty sure he's been in town before visiting Winnie, she just didn't know what to look for, and he had no reason to "stalk" her. He probably didn't recognize her walking around town (it took him a minute to recognize her several chapters ago)**

**With the rate I'm updating my two stories, "Fire Dragons Don't Breathe Ice" will be around Thanksgiving, and the next update for this will be around Christmas (anyone notice that a lot of holidays are crammed into the last two or three months of the year?) I'll probably update Winnie's look on DeviantART; mostly her elf costume for the climax of the movie (is that spoiling for her part of the story? Probably not)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Guest: I'll elaborate on it, yes, but it won't be for a while.**

**Selena: Thanks :D I'm really glad people are liking the story. I really like writing it myself.**

**Suezy Caputz: Thanks :) I'm adding to it right now XD**

* * *

For the next several months, Winnie either found herself up on Mt. Crumpit, or in her house with two guests, with the latter happening more often. The visits weren't often—usually two or three every month—but she cherished each one as she got to know her best friend more.

Grinch had gotten much grouchier and solitary since that fateful Christmas Eve. He almost always had a sarcastic remark, spoke of the Whos in a bitter tone, and always gritted his crooked, yellow teeth at the mention of Christmas.

Despite that, there was still the old Grinch that Winnie remembered. He knew how to make her laugh, was always up for a prank or two, and enjoyed making fun of Mayor "Disgustus." And it was evident that he cared about his best friend, as much as he would deny with a scowl not unlike a grumpy child.

The second time Winnie went up to Mt. Crumpit, which was just as nerve-wracking a trip as before, she knocked on the door again, but this time waited for him to answer. Max had come out through the small door to greet her. "Hello, Max," she smiled, scratching behind his long ears. "Could you tell Grinch I've come to visit?"

With a small bark, Max turned around and went back inside. Winnie stepped back away from the door, waiting patiently, while looking around. She could barely smell the garbage dump nearby, and noticed a separate pathway, that she presumed led to said garbage dump. She grimaced as she remembered her friend telling her, offhandedly, that he ate garbage. "How can he stomach it?" she pondered out loud, "unless he has a stronger one than me."

"Nah, I got used to it."

Winnie jumped and screamed in surprise. She got closer to the edge of the ledge, and waved her arms around, screaming more in fright.

"Whoops! Don't need you falling off," Grinch said, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him. "I'd rather not have to clean up a mess."

"Thanks…I guess," she raised an eyebrow at the "explanation" for saving her from falling, but shrugged it off. "You said you got used to eating garbage?"

"Yep," he shrugged, as if it weren't a big deal. "After all, what else do I have to eat? Snow?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true," she nodded.

"Why'd you ask? Thinkin' of moving up here?" he grinned, cocking an eyebrow.

"No," Winnie chuckled, "I like living down on the ground. I was just wondering how you're able to eat garbage, and for twenty years."

"There's sometimes fresh food in there," he remarked. "It's not all moldy filth."

Winnie retched slightly at the thought of eating garbage, fresh or not. "Could we change subject, please?"

"Sure," Grinch nodded. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, leaning back against the mountain. "Nothing interesting is happening down in Whoville."

"Doesn't it get boring down there?"

"I could ask the same for up here," she countered.

"Touché, my friend," he smirked. "But I'm perfectly fine being up here with Maxie." He ruffled his dog's head.

"It doesn't ever get lonely?" Winnie asked. "I think it'd be lonely, even with a pet."

"Nah," he waved his hand dismissively. "…Well, ever since I've been talking with you, it's gotten a tad bit lonely."

"You're welcome," she smiled widely, laughing when he glared at her. "But anyway, if I had a full view of Whoville, where I'd only need a telescope to spy on them, I'd be even lonelier."

"It's fun to watch Whoville, but a telescope _does_ sound delightful," he mused, tapping his fingers together sinisterly. "Since you fix things, think you could make me one?"

"First of all, my job requires me to fix things, not build them. Second of all, fixing things and building things are totally different tasks. Thirdly, if I were to make a telescope, I don't think I would condone spying."

"You were the one to suggest spying."

"I didn't suggest it…really. I just mentioned using a telescope to spy, since that seems like the only thing you could do from up here. You were never really interested in looking at stars."

"They're never interesting," Grinch agreed. "If I can see them with my own eyes, why would I need a telescope?"

"Well, whether you use a telescope for spying or star-gazing, if I ever fix one, I'll think of you," she winked. "At any rate, you probably have a good view of Whoville without one."

"Haven't you seen it?"

"The mountain view of Whoville? No. I'm not comfortable with…heights."

"I didn't know you were afraid of heights," Grinch remarked.

"It's not that I'm afraid of them," Winnie countered, "it's just that I don't care much for places prone to avalanches. Even a tower of cardboard boxes collapsing can scare me."

"Well, Mt. Crumpit hasn't had an avalanche for as long as I can remember," he pointed out, laying his arm around her shoulders. "But ya gotta see the view!"

"Wha-no!" she cried out, trying to squirm away. But he wrapped his arms around her, trapping her. She clenched her eyes shut, begging, "Don't push me off! Don't push me off!"

"Why would I do that?" he asked, sounding insulted, as he slowly shuffled the both of them forward.

Soon, Winnie felt her toes go over the edge of the mountain ledge. She screamed and jumped back against Grinch's chest, and grabbed his arms tightly. "Winnie, relax," he said in her ear. "I'm not gonna let you fall. Just open your eyes."

She shook her head quickly. "Trust me. I'm not gonna push you, or let you fall."

Gulping, Winnie cracked one eye open. Her eyelids flew open, and her jaw dropped. "Whoa!" she breathed, seeing the tiny Whoville near the base of Mt. Crumpit. It looked like a centerpiece for a mantle.

"What'd I tell ya?" Grinch grinned behind her. "Ain't it great?"

"Yeah," she nodded, starting to relax.

"Can you see your house from here?"

Giggling, Winnie combed among the small buildings before shaking her head, "No. But I _can_ see the Fix-it-Fred shop that I work at," she let go of one of his arms to point it out; she still kept a tight grip on his other arm.

Grinch looked over her shoulder as she pointed out various buildings, nodding, and saying a few words every now and then. Even Max sat at their feet, looking and wagging his tail.

Soon, once they backed away from the ledge enough, Winnie unpeeled herself from her friend, chuckling lightly. "I never realized how small Whoville really is…compared to New Who City, that is."

"Is New Who big?"

"Big? _Huge_, I'd say!" she exclaimed, holding her arms out for emphasis. "Buildings everywhere you look, cars zooming up and down the roads, and Whos everywhere you see! It was crowded and stinky, but it was home," she smiled in nostalgia.

"Sounds interesting," Grinch nodded. "Probably too crowded for my taste."

She nodded in agreement, looking back at Whoville. "You have such a great view. I'll bet not even Mayor Disgustus's house could see the whole town. I could stay up here forever."

Grinch cocked an eyebrow, suddenly sounding a little shy, "You…you could, if you'd want. I mean, I _did_ say I liked being alone, but I like you too, and it'd be nice having a roommate."

"…No," she shook her head, sighing. "I'd get used to the height, but living up here isn't for me," she smiled wistfully at her best friend. "But thanks. It means a lot that you wouldn't mind me living up here."

"Eh, like I said," he shrugged, grinning; "I like you. And…I guess it _has_ gotten a bit boring. There's only so long you can talk to one person." He eyed Max, who cocked his head to the side.

Laughing, Winnie answered, "I'm glad I'm at least a change in pace for you."

* * *

Soon, it was December. But even if you didn't have a calendar, and lived in Whoville, it wouldn't be hard to guess what season it was. In addition to the snow, all of the Whos decorated Whoville and their houses for Christmas as early as possible.

Well, most Whos anyway.

Winnie barely decorated her own house for Christmas; maybe a little garland here, some tinsel there, and a tiny Christmas tree in the corner, but not much. She had fallen out of the Christmas spirit for the past several years. Losing her parents near the season, losing her best friend on Christmas Eve…and that other incident…

She felt her eyes beginning to well at the memory. Even though it had been a year since it happened, her heart still ached. Whos may accuse her of living in the past, and maybe she was. But she figured anyone would be shaken up over such an incident.

She spent Christmas Eve and Day alone in her house, barely glancing out of her windows. She had received a few gifts from her family in New Who City: a book—ironically titled _A Christmas Carol_—a new, red and white sweater, a stuffed, sour-looking, purple kangaroo with a tiny, happy baby in her pouch, and jingle bell earrings; thankfully, the earrings didn't actually jingle like real bells.

Luka simply gave her a card, wishing her a merry Christmas. "It's not much, but what did Dorothy and I teach you?"

"To appreciate the little things in life," Winnie had answered, smiling.

"That'a girl," he chuckled, kissing her forehead.

The day after Christmas, Winnie had stuffed the leftover wrapping paper, and a wrapped roast beast sandwich for Grinch, in a trash bag, and slung it over her shoulder. Before she stepped out of the house, her radio began playing a Christmas song, "_Last Christmas, I gave you my heart. But the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me some tears, I'll give it to someone special._"

Scowling darkly, she slammed the door shut behind her, and walked to the garbage dump.

After tossing the bag in, and pushing the button, she heard a voice behind her. She clenched her fists so tightly; she heard and felt her knuckles crack.

* * *

**A/N ****I'm time-jumping because I'd like to get this story moving on, and to get to the movie at some point (I'm sometimes slow with moving the plot in my stories ^^;) But I think this chapter is pretty decent, despite it being basically filler.**

**Just some bonding between two reunited friends...sounds like the premise of a movie or series episode XD BTW, I hope I have the Grinch in-character. He can be kinda hard to write and get right in personality; especially since Jim Carrey put so much more character into him than the book and cartoon versions of our favorite furry green Scrooge. I like to think that since Winnie is his best friend, and only friend, save for Max, that he has a soft spot for her, even though he still teases her from time to time.**

**Winnie's gifts can be symbolic, if you'd look close enough (the kangaroo and her baby are more of an Easter egg, though; similar to the stuffed elephant with the pink flower) And speaking of symbolism, there's a reason Winnie doesn't like the song (that being Last Christmas; use any version you'd like, but I like Glee and Cascada's versions myself)**

**EDIT: I changed the amount of years that Grinch was gone in Mt. Crumpit from ten years, to fifteen years, to twenty. The reason I'm doing this is because ten years didn't seem long enough, and neither did fifteen. I'm not sure if I said before, but I don't think Grinch is 53 years old in the movie like he was in the original book, since he said he put up with Christmas "year after year" instead of "for fifty-three years"; plus, Jim Carrey himself was only in his early thirties when he played Grinch, and by the time he meets Cindy Lou, in this story, he'll be thirty-three. I tend to struggle with putting ages onto characters, whether they're my own, or ones that were never "aged," and I had a lot of time to think and decide on the age gap. That long an age gap might seem long, but I doubt Winnie would forget someone like the Grinch.**

**I'm just going to get it out of the way for anyone who noticed/didn't notice: yes, "A Thousand Years" has been discontinued. Let me explain: RosesnWater and I simply "got out" of doing the videos and writing the story. We just hadn't been doing either one for so long, and we got interested in other things. Seeing as neither of us are interested in doing it anymore, it would be best to discontinue the story. I'll still leave it up, since I don't think it would be fair to delete it, but it won't continue on. I'm very sorry about it all, and I'm disappointed it can't continue either. But I just don't have enough interest in it to continue on. I'm more concentrated on other things at the moment; like this story, and Fire Dragons Don't Breathe Ice (both of which will see it to the end, I assure you)**

**All I ask is you respect my and RosesnWater's decisions. If you're upset, I understand fully. But life goes on, and we move onto other things. I'll still write (I'm always thinking of new story ideas) so hopefully the "death" of one story won't upset you enough to stop reading my stories (but if it did, that's fine too) I'm using this experience to move forward, especially not having more than at least two stories in the making at once. That's why I "developed a system" where I update monthly for one story, or once every other month for two stories; that's the reason this story was updated this month in December, and FDDBI will be updated in January.**

**Thank you very much for understanding :) I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I can't please everyone; I'm only human.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Selena: Thanks :D I'm really glad you, and other people, like it so much.**

**Guest: Thank you :D I thought it was pretty cute too :3 I thought it showed that even though he's very antisocial at this point, he still remembers and likes his childhood best friend.**

* * *

"Yes, Mayor May-Who?" Winnie greeted through clenched teeth, turning to greet the mayor with a forced smile.

Augustus May-Who was a portly man with curly gray hair, black eyebrows, and a round nose. To most Whos, he had the air of a charming, responsible man; a perfect mayor.

But Winnie saw behind the mask. She knew deep down, he was a pompous, self-righteous bully, who enjoyed nothing more than using his position to its advantage.

Did her past influence her attitude against him? Probably. But it also didn't help that he still thought of her as below him, just as he did when they were kids.

"Miss Whit," May-Who smiled, "several Whos have been noticing a cloaked figure walking around Whoville for the past few months. Have _you_ seen anyone suspicious?"

Winnie struggled to keep pokerfaced, while inside she was freaking out. _Calm down, Winnie. They more than likely don't know it's Grinch. He never reveals his face out in public._

"No, Mayor May-Who," she answered shortly.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow. "Because those Whos also said they had seen you with the cloaked figure inquestion. Are you _sure_ you haven't seen anyone suspicious?"

"If I had thought this 'cloaked figure' were suspicious, would I be with them?" Winnie challenged, crossing her arms. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

"I'm not saying you're stupid at all," May-Who said defensively. "I'm just looking out for the wellbeing of all of our Whos."

Winnie wondered if he thought she didn't hear him include foolish Whos under his breath. "Mayor May-Who, I appreciate that you're looking out for _all_ of us Whos, but I assure you I can take care of myself."

"I'd just like to know who this-"

"Why? He isn't causing any trouble. Please excuse me, sir, but I must be returning home."

Sighing, May-Who dismissed her, allowing her to go home.

As soon as she arrived home, Winnie grasped at her hair, chewing her lip in nervousness. She had no way of immediately alerting Grinch that he had been seen in Whoville, and she didn't want to climb the mountain to tell him. But she didn't want to leave it until tomorrow, should he decide to come down again.

Someone knocked on her door, making her nearly jump out of her skin. Calming her racing heart, she opened the door, only to find Aaron at the door. "What do you want?" she asked a little snappily.

Smiling knowingly, Aaron nudged his way into the house. "Hey! You can't just barge into my house!"

"Mayor May-Who put me in charge of protecting you," he explained, smiling proudly.

"What?!"

"He told me there was a cloaked figure skulking around the 'ville, though you don't seem to be worried at all. He told me to watch over you until it's resolved."

Winnie gritted her teeth in anger. "I told him I could take care of myself," she growled. "I don't need protecting, Aaron. Now, get out!"

"Sorry, Winnie," he shrugged, not looking sorry at all, "orders are orders. And I agree; I just want to see you safe."

"I _am_ safe. Now get out of my house, or I'll _kick_ you out myself!" Winnie snapped. Her hidden Russian accent was thickening, and her gray eyes were blazing.

His own eyes widening, Aaron hurried out of the house.

Winnie felt very humiliated. Not only did Mayor Disgustus not believe that she could take care of herself, but he had the gall to hire a bodyguard for her, as though Grinch was a dangerous animal. She normally didn't care what her schoolyard bully thought of her, but he was using his influence to have her "protected," as though she were a precious doll that was easily broken.

She just knew he was doing it to humiliate her, and not protect her.

Rubbing her temples, she wracked her brain, trying to figure out a solution. She knew Aaron wouldn't leave her alone, especially when he had a mission like this. And she couldn't count on Mayor Disgustus to call him off; he would only make it worse.

Suddenly, her head flashbacked to what Grinch once told her: she could live up with him in Mt. Crumpit if she wanted to. True, she said she didn't like heights, but she could get used to them. And he was the one who offered, so he couldn't say she moved in without an invitation.

Was this drastic? Perhaps, but Winnie knew Aaron. He was stubborn as a mule, and was probably packing up to move in with her until "further notice." He probably thought this would also be a way to get back in with her good graces.

And anyway, Winnie wouldn't mind bonding with her true best friend more. She just hoped he was still up for the offer.

She quickly grabbed the largest suitcase she had, and filled it with clothes and other supplies she could think of. Glancing at it thoughtfully, she also grabbed Grinch's special someone present, packing it under everything else. _Perhaps someday, I'll be able to finally give it to him._ It was a wild thought, but a thought nonetheless.

As soon as she was packed, she wrote out letters to be sent to her friends and grandfather, telling them what was going on, and to not worry, or tell anyone. As soon as she stuffed them in her mailbox and pushed the flag up, she dressed as warmly as she could, grabbed her suitcase, and exited and locked the house. It was deep in the night by this time.

Glancing around, Winnie hurried to the garbage chute. As much as she disliked that method of travel, it was the quickest way up, as well as the safest, since she had to lug a big, heavy suitcase behind her.

Before she reached the chute, she heard crunching behind her. She swiftly turned around, but saw no one. "Hello?" she called out. "Whoever's stalking me, they're gonna get a face-full of suitcase."

No one came out. Narrowing her eyes, she continued on her way. "Winnie!" a voice called out.

She turned around again, only to see Aaron hurrying towards her. "What are you doing out here?!" he asked worriedly. "And why do you have a suitcase? What are you doing?"

"Stay back! I warned you, so stay away from me!" she backed away, rolling her suitcase in front of her.

Instead of leaving, or at least standing still, he approached her, hands held out, "Winnie, come back home, and we'll talk about thi-"

Wrong answer. With a grunt, and hidden strength, Winnie swung the suitcase towards Aaron, catching his chest and face and making him fall into the snow. Not stopping to see if he would get up, she turned and ran to the chute. She pushed the top open, shoved her suitcase in, climbed in, and hit the button with an open palm.

The floor beneath her feet gave away, and she plummeted down, holding a hand firmly over her mouth so she didn't scream. She felt herself somehow rise up, and fall down the chute into smelly, yet somewhat-soft trash. Before she could move, her suitcase fell onto her, pinning her down into the trash.

* * *

**A/N I bet you guys thought she'd find Aaron behind her? I was originally going have that, but I realized we haven't seen her interact with the mayor yet (while he's mayor, that is) so I thought this would be more interesting.**

**No one knows it's Grinch under that cloak; they just know someone new is in town. Mayor May-Who isn't really making that big of a deal out of it, since they haven't done anything harmful (I figured since no one was very worried about the pranks in the movie, they take them light-heartedly) He just knows Winnie's been seen with them, and enjoys embarrassing her. That's why he asked Aaron to keep an eye on her. Aaron just has it in his mind that Winnie needs protecting, and thinks that this will make her like him again.**

**I'm actually not too fond of this chapter. It's short, and I feel it was rushed, but it's what I came up with, and I need to update this. Plus, it just doesn't seem very realistic...but then again, this is Dr. Seuss we're talking about. And I think Winnie has been known to be a bit impulsive. And she's very uncomfortable with having people she doesn't like in her house, much less "protecting" them, so I think we can excuse her.**

**Aaron's not dead, BTW, just stunned.**

**Part of the reason this took a while to be updated, along with usual writer's block, is that I was distracted by Undertale videos and fanart; I recently joined the bandwagon (I only watched JackSepticEye play it, I haven't played it myself) and I find it to be a really funny and heartwarming game, with awesome characters. Who's my favorite? The Great Papyrus himself!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**demonslayer4: Thanks :)**

* * *

Groaning at the sour stench of the trash, Winnie tried to push herself up. But whatever trash was underneath her, it was soft, and her hands sunk into the bags. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her suitcase was on her back and legs, and the adrenaline was long gone, so she couldn't lift the heavy suitcase off of her, especially not from her position. She was stuck.

Her ears perked up at footsteps. Before she could call out, something was licking her face. Grunting and shaking her head, she saw who it was. "Max!" she exclaimed. "Boy, am I glad to see you! You need to go get Grinch! I'm stuck under my suitcase!"

With a soft bark, and after licking Winnie's cheek once again, Max turned tail and trotted around the peak of the mountain.

Sighing softly, Winnie tried crawling out from under the suitcase, but she was firmly pinned down. And she was too tired from running to continue to try and get it off of her.

She squirmed as much as she could, teeth chattering. It was starting to get cold, despite her being bundled up. She hoped Grinch would come soon; she didn't fancy being stuck outside overnight.

"Winnie?! Is that you?!" a familiar gravelly voice exclaimed in surprise.

Looking up, she saw her best friend looking down at her, bewildered. She could have sworn she saw a bit of amusement in his yellow eyes as well, but she didn't really care. "Grinch! Help, I'm stuck under my suitcase!"

"Suitcase? What do you have a suitcase for?"

"Can we talk about that later? I'm getting cold, and I don't want to smell this garbage any longer. Just please get it off of me?"

With a grunt, Grinch lifted the suitcase off of Winnie, and set it down on the rocky mountain top. Winnie was able to roll over and sit up. "Thank you," she sighed, standing up and rubbing her lower back.

"What did you pack in there, rocks?" he asked, staring at the object. "And why?"

"It's kind of a long story," she said, stepping out of the dump. "Can we go inside and talk? I'm freezing." She grabbed the suitcase's handle.

Nodding, Grinch led her into the cave, where they were greeted by a wriggling and whimpering Max. "Yes, she's alright," he grumbled, nudging the dog away with his leg.

"I believe thanks are in order for you too, Max," Winnie smiled, scratching behind his ears. "If you hadn't found me, I would've stayed out there until morning, probably."

"Before we go down, what's going on?" Grinch asked, crossing his arms with a scowl.

Sighing, Winnie sat on her suitcase, lacing her fingers. "It all started earlier today. I was throwing away my garbage—"

"So, was it you who put the sandwich in the bag?"

"Yes," she nodded, smiling slightly.

"I hate roast beef," he said shortly, "so I gave it to Max."

Feeling a little deflated, Winnie continued, "I was greeted by Mayor Disgustus, who said Whos had seen you sneaking around town." She raised an eyebrow at Grinch as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to look innocent. "What did you do?"

"I might have visited town a couple of times," he shrugged, "doing things."

"What things?"

"…Grinchy things?" he grinned. When her expression didn't change, he sighed, "I was trying to liven up the town with some pranks. Is that so bad?"

"Normally, no," Winnie shook her head. "Whoville _does_ get boring sometimes. But you've been seen, especially with me, and Disgustus was asking if I knew who the 'cloaked figure' is."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Grinch growled.

"Of course I didn't!" she shouted, standing up and throwing her arms out. "What kind of friend would I be?! But apparently, he thought it would be a good idea to have someone look after me—"

"Why would he care so much about you?"

"Because he was trying to humiliate me, I just know it," she crossed her own arms with a scowl. "Because he explicitly told Aaron about the situation—"

"The Aaron who hurt you?"

"Yes, now stop interrupting! He told Aaron I needed protecting, and to probably move in with me until he deemed the town 'safe.' And I basically had to threaten Aaron to get him out of my house. He probably thinks if he does a good job of 'protecting' me, I'll like him again."

"So…you decided to move up here?" Grinch raised an eyebrow.

"That's what it came down to. I packed up and disappeared without a trace…kinda."

"'Kinda'? What does that mean?"

"Aaron saw me, and tried to stop me. And I…" she scratched her head under her hat, now looking embarrassed, "I hit him across the head and chest with my suitcase."

Blinking a few times in surprise, Grinch burst out laughing. "Thatta girl, Winnie!" he cheered, wrapping an arm across her shoulders and noogied her, making her push him away with a laugh. "But wait, if you could lift that suitcase to hit him, how did you get stuck under it?"

"_I'm_ not even sure how I lifted it to hit him. I think it was just adrenaline, and it ran out by the time I was stuck in the trash. Plus, I was tired because I had to run to the chute." Readjusting her hat, Winnie looked at her best friend, who still had his arm around her shoulders. "You invited me to stay up here before. So…I hope the offer still stands?"

Pursing his lips, Grinch glanced at Max, who simply cocked his head. "I don't do this with everyone…but, since you're my good friend, I'll make an exception."

Eyes and smile widening, Winnie hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

Surprised at the sudden hug, Grinch patted her on the back. "Anytime. So…you wanna see the rest of the Grinch residence?"

Giggling at the forced accent he put on, Winnie let him go and nodded, "Yes. And if possible, I want to have a bath. I probably smell like garbage." She smelled her arm, and almost gagged. "Scratch that, I _do_ smell like garbage."

"I don't think it's too bad," Grinch shrugged.

"Because you're so used to it."

"Anyway, welcome," he pulled a handle on a chain connected to the ceiling, "to your new home."

* * *

**A/N I know I usually alternate story updates when I have multiple stories, but I'm having some writers block for "Fire Dragons Don't Breathe Ice," so I decided to update this in the meantime.**

**When I wrote that Winnie put a roast beast sandwich in the trash for Grinch, I remembered that he hates roast beast. So, I decided since he doesn't like it (Winnie didn't know) he would give it to Max instead.**

**Updates for both stories might be slow, both because I tend to be slow with updating, and the fact that a family member died recently. So things might get hectic soon. All I ask is that you all be patient, as you already were :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**demonslayer4: Thanks :)**

* * *

When Grinch pulled the chain, lights came on overhead. Winnie looked over the ledge, gasping at the sight below.

Among the stalagmites and pits that you'd find in an everyday mountain cave was furniture. There was an old-looking easy chair, a yellowed sub-zero chillibrator, a cracked table covered in food, and several other contraptions. In a deeper part of the cave, she saw an old and rickety-looking bed with what looked like a clock next to it.

"Well, whattaya think?" Grinch asked proudly, hands on his hips.

"…It's amazing!" Winnie breathed, still wide-eyed. "And to think you did it all yourself!"

"Aw, you flatter me," he snickered, waving a hand dismissively. "Shall I give you the grand tour?"

"Sounds good," she nodded, grabbing her suitcase again.

Grinch led Winnie to the tall, green pole she saw on her first visit. It had a few platforms slowly spinning up and down the length, several large wheels and cogs on the bottom, and a small pipe with smoke coming out.

While she was staring at the contraption, Grinch stepped onto one of the platforms. When he saw Winnie wasn't moving, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his side, startling her and nearly making her drop her suitcase. "Might wanna pay attention to how things work," he winked.

"Right," she nodded, clutching her suitcase with both hands.

Once they reached the ground, Grinch gestured outwards with his free arm, "Over there is the kitchen. Can ya believe someone dumped a perfectly-good sub-zero chillibrator?"

"Was it working?"

"No. But I was able to fix it up real good. Until then, I just scooped snow from outside to keep stuff cold."

"Hmm, smart," Winnie nodded. "Luckily, I thought to pack my tools in case something breaks."

"What, you think something's gonna break?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't jinx it," she advised. "It'll happen. Trust me." She had just now realized his arm was still around her waist, but she didn't go to remove it.

"Anyway, that holeway—"

"Holeway? Don't you mean doorway?"

"Nope, holeway. You see any door?"

Winnie looked at the large hole in the rock wall and nodded, "Good point."

"Anyway, that way's the there's no curtain, but I suppose since you're living here—"

"I'll find something, don't worry," Winnie smiled. "Where's the water?"

"On the upper level," he answered, pointing up.

"Hm," she said thoughtfully, "at any rate, it'll be easier to try and make some plumbing. Until then, I guess I'll have to get used to charting water buckets up and down."

"At any rate, this is the living room." He led her to the easy chair. There was a zip line above it, which connected above his bed. "_That,_" he pointed a long finger at the chair, "is _my_ chair. You want one? Find one yourself."

"Duly noted," she nodded. "Do Whos really throw away all kinds of junk?"

"Someone threw away a sub-zero chillibrator and chair. You tell me. That back there," he pointed towards the bed, "is the master bedroom. The master being me, of course."

"So, where am _I_ supposed to sleep?"

"I'm getting to that, my dear Winnie." He moved his arm so it was around her shoulders, and led her to another doorway—or holeway, rather. "This is just an empty room. This can be your bedroom if you want…it's actually your only choice. It's the only empty room in the place."

Chuckling, Winnie looked around the room. It was almost as big as her bedroom back at home. If she could somehow find a bed, dresser, and even a wardrobe, it would be perfect. When she asked if he had seen any of the furniture she was thinking of, he tapped his chin, humming, "Hmmm, I haven't seen anything lately, but it's almost the day after _Christmas,_" he sneered at the word. "So Whos will be throwing away all kinds of junk."

"They will?" Winnie asked in surprise. "You mean to make room for new stuff?"

"Either that, or they weren't very happy with what they got. Miserable, ungrateful louts," he grumbled under his breath.

"I'll say," Winnie scoffed, crossing her arms.

"But anyway, make yourself at home, and we'll see if we can build at least a bed. There's a lot of wood and stuff that comes up here too."

Winnie wrapped her arms around her best friend, making him jump; he still wasn't used to Who contact. "Thank you for this, Grinch," she said, blowing his fur out of her nose.

After some hesitation, Grinch wrapped his arms around Winnie. Even though he wasn't used to this kind of contact, having gone twenty years without it, he felt that he could slowly get used to it; especially since it was his best friend who was living with him.

* * *

Sure enough, the next morning, Grinch and Winnie found a scuffed dresser in the dump. "What'd I tell ya?" he said. "Either someone got a new dresser, or someone got a new dresser."

Remembering what he said the previous night, Winnie nodded. "I can't tell whether it's new or old myself. But at least it still has working shelves."

The two of them managed to drag it into the cave and into Winnie's new room. Since there wasn't a bed, Winnie had to sleep on the floor. She was able to lay out her clothes in a rectangular pile, and sleep in her thickest coat, but her back was paying for it. When she mentioned this, Grinch said, "Be patient. Either a bed will come down, or we'll be able to find wood for it."

"And a decent mattress as well, hopefully," she added, bending backwards. She grunted when her back let out a loud crack.

"Nice one."

Soon enough, a mattress did come, albeit with some stains from the garbage. Winnie decided that the mattress was enough of a bed for her. "At least I'll know monsters aren't under my bed," she joked.

"You still believe in that?" he scoffed.

"No," she huffed. "I was making a joke."

* * *

At some point, Winnie realized if she wanted a pillow and thick blanket, she would have to get them herself. But she didn't want to go down to Whoville as herself, in case she was recognized and dragged back home.

She noticed Grinch's brown coat hanging on coat hangers that looked like deer antlers on a stalactite that connected to the ground. It looked like it was made of an old, brown, textured rug, and zipped up in the front.

Glancing around, she took it off of the antler, stepped into it, stuck her arms though the giant armholes, and zipped up the front, shuddering at the strong smell. "Well, since we're practically living off of trash, I might as well get used to the smell."

Getting an idea, she ran back to her room, pushing aside the moth-eaten curtain that served as a door, and grabbed up a scarf. She wrapped it around her face so only her eyes were showing. She grabbed the large money pouch she packed when she left her original home, pulled the hood up and over her head, and left the cave.

* * *

**A/N I've been on a role more with my GotG fanfic more than this one, but I found time to write a new chapter.**

**I'm not 100% sure about the layout and contents of Grinch's cave, so I did a combination of studying what we saw in the movie, and just winging it. I'm not sure if he was able to somehow install indoor plumbing, so I'm still going off the idea that there's a pool of water inside that he can draw water from. We're still five years away from when the movie officially starts, so maybe he and Winnie figured something out. We'll see. EDIT: I moved the water from the bathroom to the upper level, since it'll be easier to somehow rig some plumbing (how does a pond/small lake on the upper level work? I don't know, this movie doesn't exactly follow logic)**

**Since it's in the world of Dr. Seuss, where some wacky stuff can happen, one could believe that Whos dump furniture down the garbage chute. Plus, technically, it's the garbage dump.**

**I thought it was really interesting that part of Grinch's beef with Christmas seemed to be that the Whos were greedy with their gifts, and he finds unwanted stuff in the garbage. People say the Whos were portrayed as uncharacteristic in the movie, but to be fair, we didn't know much about them in the original book and cartoon, other than they love Christmas, Christmas food, and making noise. Plus, since the movie has kind of a "modern setting", I could believe that the Whos eventually got greedy, and somewhat commercialized Christmas, much like how it seems to be these days. It really drives the message of Christmas not being just about presents home.**

**Winnie isn't going to be up in Mt. Crumpit forever. She doesn't want to live off of strictly garbage, so she's going to be going down to Whoville to grocery shop, probably once a month, and get any other supplies she needs. The catch is she'll be disguised, like how Grinch was with his cloak (I thought it was made from a gunny sack, like what potato sacks are made of, but it looks more like a rug he found and decided to make into a cloak) Since Winnie doesn't have a mask, she'll be using her scarf instead to hide her face.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Guest: Thanks :D I agree, he DOES need human company. He seems to understand Max (though it may just be him guessing what Max is saying) but it might get kind of boring and lonely talking to a dog. I don't mind you using it in the slightest XD I came up with the nickname because his [the mayor] real name is Augustus, and disgust could be put in perfectly for a mean nickname. Plus, it sounded like something a child would make up XD That scene won't be for a while, but I'll definitely think about how I might put Winnie in it.**

* * *

Winnie carefully climbed back down the mountain, often having to pause and shut her eyes to regain her courage. She hadn't lived with Grinch for more than a day, so she still wasn't used to the high height of Mt. Crumpit.

Soon enough, though, she reached the base of the mountain.

Readjusting her scarf and cloak, Winnie slowly stepped into Whoville, hoping that no one would recognize her. Hopefully, with only her eyes showing, no one would even glance her way. Underneath the long sleeves of her cloak, she crossed her fingers.

Whos did glance at her, but only with confusion, not recognition. Some of them ignored her, while others nodded and tipped their hats with a small "hello". Winnie only answered with a nod, not wanting anyone to recognize her by her voice.

She found the furniture store, which sold furniture and accessories for kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. Once inside, she headed for the bedroom section of the store. There, she found pillows of varying sizes and firmness. She grabbed the largest, softest pillow she could find, as well as a pink pillowcase. Then, she found a thick, charming red and orange quilt trimmed with brown.

In the same section, she saw a large white lamp; its shade had three shades of orange that looked like mountains. _I need a lamp,_ she thought to herself, and grabbed that as well. She had to hold the pillow and folded quilt over one arm, and drape the pillowcase over her shoulder in order to hold the lamp. _Note to self: carts are helpful._

The cashier gave her a strange look when Winnie went to check out, and didn't attempt to make any conversation. Winnie took her money bag out of her coat and paid for her new furniture without a word, grabbed the bags, and exited the furniture store.

On her way back to Mt. Crumpit, Winnie saw the grocery store out of the corner of her eye. _I don't really fancy eating garbage, like Grinch. Perhaps… perhaps I can go to the grocery store once a month or so to get some fresh food. But what should I do with these bags?_

Humming in thought, Winnie decided to put her bags in the garbage chute under some of the garbage bags. She hurried to the garbage chute, and opened the hatch. She took a couple of the garbage bags out of the chute, put her two shopping bags inside, and put the garbage bags back on top of the shopping bags. She pushed the hatch back down, and went back to the grocery store.

Once inside, she grabbed a shopping basket, and hooked it over her arm. As she browsed the produce, her mind went back to when she first discovered Grinch wore his cloak when he occasionally came down to Whoville. She had envisioned him holding a shopping basket and shopping for groceries. And here she was, wearing his cloak, with a shopping basket, grocery shopping.

She giggled at the memory, only to clap a hand over her mouth and look around, eyes widening. She had forgotten she was supposed to be quiet.

Luckily, she was the only one in the produce section. Sighing with relief, she grabbed a couple of onions, a bunch of bananas, and some garlic and tomatoes. She also grabbed some soap, body wash, and toothpaste for the future.

This time, the cashier tried to talk to her, asking where she was from, and why she was so bundled up. Winnie simply shrugged and wordlessly paid for her groceries. The cashier seemed put out at the silence, but shrugged and wished her a good day. Winnie simply nodded and left with her bags.

Winnie hurried to the garbage chute, opened the hatch, and shifted the bags around. She sighed with relief when she found her grocery bags still inside. _Hopefully the bags will protect them from the stink._ She climbed into the chute with her other bags, and hit the button with her hand.

The bottom of the chute opened up, and Winnie found herself sliding through the large tube up the mountain alongside the garbage bags. She held her shopping bags close to her so she didn't lose or break anything. Her hood was blown back, and her scarf was slightly unraveled, but she didn't try to fix anything.

Soon, she fell into the garbage dump again. This time though, she was able to get up by herself. She heaved the bags up into her arms and walked up to the door. She set two bags down so one of her arms was free, pushed the door open, and picked up the bags again. She stepped into the cave and nudged the door shut with her back.

She frowned in confusion. When she left, only the lights on the main floor were on. Now the light on the upper floor was on. "Grinch must have turned it on," Winnie said to herself. She set the bags down at her feet and unraveled her scarf the rest of the way.

Suddenly, something grabbed her by the shoulders from behind. She flinched and screamed loudly in fright.

* * *

**A/N Hazzah! The review bug has been fixed!**

**I can't remember if anyone looked at Grinch funny while he was walking around in Whoville in his disguise. But since they were greeting him in friendly manners (including a police officer) I'd assume they wouldn't be too worried.**

**While Winnie was simply shopping for a pillow and quilt, I decided she would also need a pillowcase and lamp (the kind operated via batteries, since I don't think there are electricity sockets in Grinch's cave XD) I think I had also mentioned before that she would go down to Whoville once a month for grocery shopping. Have you noticed something familiar with the food she got, minus the onions? ;)**

**I figured there would be two types of people Winnie would meet during her trip: the kind that want little to do with her, since she seems suspicious (I'd imagine that not all of the Whos will be friendly to a cloaked stranger) and the kind who are still friendly to curious-looking people.**

**I didn't quite know how to end the chapter, but I decided on a jumpscare cliffhanger XD**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Guest: Thank you so much :D I'm glad you like it so much.**

**Yup, that's right :D You'll find out in this chapter ;)**

* * *

"Sheesh, Winnie," a deep, gravelly voice said behind her. "You want Whoville to hear ya?"

Winnie looked over her shoulder, sighing in relief. "Grinch! Why did you do that?! You scared me half to death!"

"Serves you right for stealing my cloak," he countered, crossing his arms with a scowl.

She turned around to face him and said, "I'm sorry. I needed to go down to Whoville, and I didn't want to be recognized."

"So, you thought it'd be a good idea to steal my cloak?"

"I didn't have one of my own, so I had to improvise."

He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair. "What did you need that required _my_ cloak?"

"A pillow, pillowcase, quilt, and lamp for myself; food, and sanitary items."

Grinch raised a bushy eyebrow as Winnie took out the pillow and stuffed it into a pink pillowcase. Pulling apart the bag handles, he saw the red, orange, and brown quilt. "What food did you get?"

"Onions, bananas, garlic, and tomatoes," she answered, holding the pillow under her arm. She grabbed the bag, and took them to her bedroom. The holeway still didn't have a curtain door.

He followed her into the room and watched her put the lamp on the dresser, and the pillow and quilt on the bed. "What are the 'sanitary items'?"

"Soap, body wash, and toothpaste," she answered, smoothing out the quilt.

"For you, I assume?"

"Unless you want to borrow them, yeah," she chuckled, standing up straight. "And like I said, I have fresh food."

"Why? We have our own grocery store next door."

"I'm not going to be eating garbage," Winnie scowled.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Winnie, but you don't have much of a choice," Grinch said, actually looking sympathetic. "Living up here ain't the same as living down there. You can't go to the grocery store anytime you need food. Sometimes you gotta settle for next best; trust me." He laid his hands on Winnie's shoulders. "You'll have to get used to the living conditions up here. They don't just include the cold and high height."

Winnie's scowl melted away into a downcast expression. He was right. She wouldn't be able to get fresh food as much as she was able to down in Whoville, even with a disguise. It was already enough of a hassle to get down and up the mountain, let alone with grocery bags in hand.

"Hey, cheer up," Grinch grinned. He cupped her face with both of his hands, squeezed her cheeks, and gently shook her head back and forth. "You'll get used to it. You wouldn't believe the food those Whos throw away."

"Knock it off," she giggled, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands off of her face. She rubbed her flushed cheeks and said, "You're right. I have to get used to living like you. Hopefully I can do it without getting sick."

"That's the spirit."

* * *

Unfortunately, Winnie wasn't able to get her complete wish. The first edible garbage she tried was a half-eaten roast beast sandwich. It looked old, squished, and not very pleasant. Winnie shuddered at the thought of eating it. "C'mon, Winnie," Grinch grinned, shaking the sandwich slightly. They were both sitting on the floor in the cave. "Open wide."

"Just give me the sandwich," Winnie frowned, snatching the food from her friend's hand, and eyed it with a wary expression. Gulping, she pinched her nose, clenched her eyes shut, and took a bite of the sandwich. She shuddered heavily at the crispy bread and soggy meat in her mouth.

"Just chew quickly and swallow," Grinch said. His tone of voice was half encouraging, and half trying not to laugh.

Whining, she chewed the bite, shuddering again. She chewed quicker, and swallowed with a big gulp. Her eyes popped open with a gasp, and yelled, "Oh, Seuss! That was disgusting!"

"You still have the rest of the sandwich," Grinch smirked, still trying not to laugh.

"I am _this_ close to punching you," she growled, holding her index finger and thumb apart slightly. She shoved the sandwich into her friend's chest and held her now free hand over her eyes.

"Deep breath in through the nose, out through the mouth."

Pursing her lips, Winnie slowly inhaled through her nose, parted her lips, and slowly exhaled. "You okay?" Grinch chuckled lightly.

"Am I starting to look like a hairless version of you?" she asked, still holding her hand over her eyes.

"Um…kinda. Actually, you're handling it a lot better than how I did."

Before Winnie could say anything, her stomach began churning. Her hand whipped away from her face, and her gray eyes were as wide as dinner plates. She stood up quickly, pushed Grinch out of her way, and ran to the bathroom.

The bathroom consisted of a chipped bathtub, with a stitched-up curtain around it, and old sink, what Grinch called, "an outhouse without a house", and a small table with various bathroom necessities. They hadn't been able to figure out the best way of getting water from the upstairs water down to the bathroom in terms of plumbing, nor did they have the materials yet, but Grinch didn't seem to be in too big of a hurry.

Winnie was simply happy that they found a thick curtain to use as a makeshift door.

She pushed the curtain aside, and practically threw herself onto the toilet, barely making it before her stomach expelled its contents.

Grinch pushed himself to his feet and went over to the bathroom. "Erm…are you all right, Winnie?"

The only answer he got was gasps and groans. Humming in thought, he tossed the sandwich back over his shoulder, pushed the curtain aside, and stepped in in time to see Winnie crouched on the floor, wiping her mouth off with several pieces of paper. "How ya doin'?"

"Peachy," she deadpanned, tossing the toilet paper down the toilet.

"Maybe I _do_ have a stronger stomach than yours." He scratched the back of his head and asked, "You want to try something else?"

She groaned as her stomach gurgled loudly. "Maybe later. I just want some water." She stood up slowly and took a few wobbly steps forward, pressing her hands against the wall. Soon, she made it to the sub-zero chillibrator. She opened it, revealing a small water container with a spout. She grabbed a glass, poured some water into it, and slowly sipped as she shut the sub-zero chillibrator.

Winnie and Grinch had gathered the water, from the lake, into a large pot, and boiled on the super-zero heater that they found and fixed, and put it in the water dispenser, which, in turn, was put in the sub-zero chillibrator.

"I'm thinking that I shouldn't eat meat anymore," Winnie said.

"Going vegetarian?" Grinch asked wryly.

"Basically."

"What about if we cook it?"

"I think that stupid sandwich put me off of meat for life," she said sourly.

* * *

**A/N The glitch preventing us from uploading to the doc manager has been fixed! Is it just me, or has the website been kinda buggy lately?**

**If you think about it, no one knows that Winnie is up in Mt. Crumpit, save for Grinch. At this point, the Whos in Whoville don't know if Grinch is even up there for sure; they just have a blurry picture of him as "evidence".**

**Winnie hadn't really grasped the knowledge that her choice of food would be scarce. She can't go to the grocery store as often as she could when she was living in Whoville because not only is it hard to get up and down the mountain, but she would look suspicious if she were to be seen often in a cloak; Whos would get "brave enough" to ask her questions and attempt to pull down her hood.**

**Grinch likes to mess around with Winnie, whether it's joking around, or poking at her. I felt if he had a roommate, he'd enjoy messing with them that way; Winnie is no exception.**

**Believe it or not, I had fun writing the part where Winnie was trying the old sandwich. I think Grinch "encouraging" her, and trying not to laugh, is very in-character for him. I'm trying to brainstorm ideas about potential plumbing (I have an idea or two) It probably won't happen for a while, depending on how much more will be written between now and the movie.**

**I figured since a refrigerator is called a sub-zero chillibrator, I came up with the idea that a stove/oven was called a super-zero heater. I also thought that since Winnie had such a bad experience with the meat sandwich that she wouldn't eat meat ever again, even if it were cooked.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Guest: Thanks :D Yeah, Aaron doesn't really have a reason to climb up the mountain, much less suspect that the hooded figure was Winnie. So, she's still safe. More than likely. I'll probably make reference to that later, since I want to get to the movie soon. Thanks :D**

**wolfimus prime: Thanks :) I'm so sorry I took so long for this to be updated; I'm glad you like this.**

* * *

Indeed, after that day, Winnie decided to go full-vegetarian. She couldn't even look at a piece of meat without feeling ill for several weeks.

But she was soon able to stomach other garbage: old bread, spotty fruits and vegetables, hardened cheeses, etc. But she still insisted on grocery-shopping at least once a month. "It's your funeral if you fall down the mountain," Grinch had shrugged when she stated this.

But Winnie somehow knew that if she were to hurt herself by falling down Mt. Crumpit, Grinch would be at least a bit concerned. And she was proven right when she came inside, limping slightly. "Afternoon, Mr. G," she grinned.

"What happened to your leg?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, I stepped in a hollow and twisted it. I hate when that happens," she said offhandedly, putting the groceries in the sub-zero chillibrator.

"You seem fine with it."

"I'm not, it hurts," she countered, raising a thin eyebrow. "Why are you so worried?"

"Worried?! I'm not worried! I was merely pointing out that you were limping, and wished to know why!" Grinch huffed indignantly. "_You're_the one implying that I'm worried!" He strolled to another part of the cave, shaking his head.

"He was worried," Winnie grinned sideways at Max, who sneezed in response.

* * *

Once, when Winnie was heading home from grocery shopping, she saw a Who yard sale, with a telescope on the yard. Her mind went back to when she and Grinch were talking on Mt. Crumpit, before Christmas, and they were talking about telescopes.

Before she knew it, her feet were taking her to the sale. The Who running the sale—a thin, elderly woman with narrow glasses and big gray hair—gaped at Winnie in surprise. Grinch had gathered a bunch of potato sacks, and sewed them together to make a hooded cloak for his best friend. "So you don't steal my cloak when you go down to Whoville," he had said.

It wasn't as elaborately made as Grinch's cloak. The sacks were sewed together with thick red thread, and there were several potato logos littered across the cloak. And instead of having a zipper, Winnie had to pull the cloak on over her head, find the sleeves, and stick her head threw the hole before pulling the hood on over her head. But she loved it regardless.

Shaking from her stupor, the elderly Who greeted with a nervous smile, "Welcome. Is there anything you see interesting?"

Winnie wordlessly gestured at the telescope. "Oh yes, this was my husband's before he passed. Normally it's ten dollars, but no one seems to be interested in it. Since you're the only one who seems to want it, how about I give it to you for free?"

Winnie cocked her hooded head in question. "Please, I insist. As I said, no one else seems to want it."

Finally, the hooded Who nodded. "Excellent! Do you need help taking it to where you live?"

Winnie shook her head, set her bags down, and picked up the telescope, pushing the legs together. She hung the bags on the legs, and slung the telescope over her shoulder, with the bags in front of her. As she walked down the sidewalk, she waved back at the elderly Who.

Grinch was delighted with the new object, and waited impatiently as Winnie inspected it, looked through it, and tweaked it with her tools. "Is it done yet?"

"Yes, Mr. Ants-in-Your-Fur," Winnie scoffed, stepping back. "Set it wherever you like."

Giggling happily, and somewhat mischievously, Grinch grabbed up the telescope and hurried out of the cave. Winnie saw that he had placed it just outside the door, aiming it at Whoville. _Of course he did,_ she smirked, shaking her head.

* * *

Winnie was very curious about the x-ray machine she found while snooping around. It looked like a generator with a gray screen attached to it via a thick, curled wire. Four knobs were attached to it; when she fiddled with the red one, it sharpened and blurred the screen, much like a television.

When she asked Grinch why he had it, he shrugged, "I thought it'd be interesting."

Pursing her lips, Winnie nodded, "Can't blame you."

"I actually saw something _very_ interesting about my heart."

"Your heart?" Winnie asked, feeling her own heart clench with worry. Did he have a heart condition she didn't know about.

"C'mere and I'll show you." He took her to the x-ray machine, switched it on, and held it in front of his chest.

Winnie could see his rib-cage and spine, and his various organs: lungs, stomach, and heart. She squinted at it in confusion. "It looks...small."

"Exactly," he nodded, tapping the x-ray screen and causing it to wobble. "Twice as small as normal, in fact!"

_He seems so proud of that fact._ "I wonder if it was because of the Whos bullying you, and you not liking Christmas," she pondered aloud.

"What of it?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I'm just pondering aloud." She tapped her chin in thought. "I wonder what _my_ heart looks like?"

"Let's see!" Grinch exclaimed, evidently glad for a change of topic. He pulled Winnie around the x-ray screen, and stood in front of it, twisting the knob until the picture was clear. "Hmm...curious."

"What? Is it small?"

"No, it's just the right size. But..."

"But what?" she asked frantically, clutching the screen.

"It's cracked."

"...Cracked?"

"Indeed. Cracked, and cracked and healed."

"What?"

Rolling his eyes, Grinch grabbed the back of Winnie's head and pulled it down. "See for yourself!"

Grunting in pain, Winnie looked at the screen. Indeed, her heart was just the right size for a Who. But there were noticeable scars on it, looking very much like healed cracks. There were also unhealed cracks, though they didn't look fresh.

"...That _is_ curious," she said quietly.

Grinch hummed in response, letting her head go. "I wonder why it looks like that."

"...I think I know."

"Care to share?"

Winnie remained quiet for a few seconds before saying, "The oldest scars look like they happened when my parents died. They've healed. Then, the second-oldest ones are probably when you left twenty years ago. They too healed."

"What about the unhealed ones?" Grinch stared at his best friend as she remained silent. "...Winnie?"

"...Aaron."

"Huh?"

"The unhealed ones are from when Aaron hurt me. I guess...I guess I haven't really gotten over it, or it's still fresh, seeing as it happened two years ago."

"What happened?" Grinch insisted, already thinking of ways he could get back at this "Aaron". No one hurt his best friend and got away with it, even if it was two years ago.

Winnie sighed, stepping back away from the x-ray screen and leaning back against the wall. "...We were dating for a few years. I thought I was happy with him, and he with me. Two Christmases ago, I gave him the best gift I could have possibly given anyone."

"And what was that?"

"My heart," she answered, touching her chest delicately with her fingers. "But the next day, the very. Next. Day...he gave it away," she whispered the last sentence.

Grinch cocked his head, confused. "I hadn't seen him for most of the day. And when I found him..." she scratched the back of her head, trying to distract herself from the tears budding in her eyes from the memory. "He was standing at an intersection, with a woman. I thought she might have been a relative or a friend at first. They were talking and laughing, they hugged...and they kissed."

"...What, like a kiss on the cheek? Or a family kiss?"

She shook her head bitterly. "A deep, romantic kiss. Like it was the most passionate and pure one. I was shocked, saddened, and angry."

"What did you do?"

"I marched right up to him, pulled him back, and slapped him across the face! I called him out for being a cheater, and told him I never with to see him again. It was lovely hearing that woman scream at him." She took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. "I didn't really care for Christmas before that, since my parents died around it, and you ran away on Christmas Eve. I thought my Christmas spirit had returned when I was with Aaron. But when I saw him with her, it died away." She relaxed her hands, which were clenched without her realizing it, and stared at the crescent-shaped indents in her palms from her fingernails. She then chuckled jadedly, "And tomorrow's Christmas Eve. Whoopee."

"What's he look like?"

"What?"

"The guy. What does he look like?"

"Um, he has shaggy brown hair, blue eyes, a beard and sideburns, and a pointed nose. He almost always wears plaid."

Grinch wordlessly marched towards the door leading out of the cave, grabbing his cloak on the way out. "Wh-where are you going?!" Winnie asked in surprise.

No answer as the door was shut.

Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time that day, the Who slid down until she was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, and wallowed in the bad memories. Max padded up to her, nudging her knee with a soft whine.

She stared at the brown dog for a few seconds before grabbing him and hugging him tight against her chest. He adjusted himself a little, and allowed her to bury her face in his fur and cry silently.

* * *

Aaron stepped out of the bar, and pulled his coat tighter around his neck. He blew air through pursed lips, watching as his breath flew through the air like smoke, and he glanced up at the quickly-darkening sky, before walking in the direction of home.

He found himself thinking about many things as he walked home. Surprisingly, Christmas wasn't very far up on the list, despite it being the 'ville's most favorite holiday. No, he was thinking about a certain missing Who.

No one had seen Winnie since she disappeared the day after Christmas. Her friends and grandfather didn't know, and didn't seem eager to speak about it. "Why would she want to be found by _you_? The very Who who broke her heart?" they had all asked.

He knew what he did two Christmases ago. At the time, he said it was a moment of weakness, and that the Who he was with was an ex-girlfriend he was on good terms with...well, at least before Winnie found them together the day after Christmas. And he still testified that it was a moment of weakness.

But that hadn't pacified Winnie, who did not speak to him for weeks after, and threw his possessions out of her house rather quickly. Even when she would speak to him, she made it clear that she still hated him for what he did.

Aaron understood that what he did was wrong, but he still liked Winnie. Maybe not love, but he still liked her, and wanted to patch things up. Maybe prove that he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. But she was stubborn, and refused to give him a second chance. When Mayor May-Who had mentioned the cloaked figure skulking around Whoville, Aaron had jumped at the chance to move in with Winnie and "keep her safe". The mayor didn't seem against the idea, and even told him that if she said no, to keep insisting, saying that she didn't comprehend about how dangerous this cloaked figure could be.

Aaron had expected Winnie to be upset, and perhaps he shouldn't have forced his way into her house, or lie about how the mayor assigned him to the task, when it was the other way around. But Seuss almighty, was Winnie angry. He was actually worried she would go through with her promise to literally kick him out of her house. He could have sworn steam was billowing out of her nose like an angry bull. Even though he had left, he still stuck around to keep an eye on her. And when he looked the other way for what felt like a minute, there she was, hurrying down the sidewalk, away from her house, and tugging a suitcase behind her.

And when he tried to coax her into going back and talking about it, she hit him with the suitcase, knocking him into the snow so that he saw stars. He didn't even know she was that strong! Luckily, the only injuries he sustained were a few bruises and a broken nose, which had healed crookedly. His pride had also been injured, but he was able to hide that away. By the time he recovered and got up, not only was she gone, but her tracks were partially-destroyed by wind.

As he walked by the buildings, something suddenly grabbed Aaron by the arm and pulled him into an alley. Before he had a chance to fight back or ask who it was, he was punched in the face, kneed in the stomach, and tossed onto the ground. He was kicked in the sides, and had his face stomped on, breaking his nose again. Finally, his assailant grabbed him up by the collar, and he was held close to a hooded figure's facial-area. He couldn't see anything, save for shadows and stars, but he could smell rancid breath. "That's for hurting my friend last Christmas," a deep voice growled viciously.

"Wha-?" Aaron moaned, grasping at the arm holding him. He was slammed back against the wall, and slid down to the ground. He looked around groggily, but the assailant was long gone, and he was left in the snow.

_That's for hurting my friend last Christmas._ That was what the voice had said. But he didn't hurt anyone last year.

...Unless the voice meant what he had done two Christmases prior.

But who was that? It didn't sound like Rudy, Helga, or Jamie. And Mr. Whit could barely get around in a wheelchair, much less beat him up.

* * *

After returning home, and hanging up his cloak, Grinch found Winnie where he had left her: next to the x-ray machine. She was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, hugging Max. She appeared to be asleep.

As soon as he saw his owner, Max pulled and wriggled himself out of Winnie's grasp, and gave Grinch a questioning look. "Just had to give this Aaron fellow a talking to," he explained shortly before turning back to Winnie. After a few seconds, he crouched down next to her, pushed his right arm under her knees, wrapped his left arm around her back, and lifted her up.

As he walked to his best friend's room, she shifted in his arms, causing him to freeze. "You didn't kill him, did you?" she asked quietly.

"...I just bruised and broke his nose." He continued int the bedroom.

"...Good." She craned her head back and kissed Grinch on the cheek before he set her down on the bed. He froze in place again, and this time dropped her. She squealed when she hit the mattress, and quickly rolled onto her side so she was facing the wall, feeling her face burn with embarrassment.

There were no sounds, and she sensed no movement. She felt long fingers hesitantly stroke her hair, as if she were an animal that was liable to bite. As soon as she heard departing footsteps, she let the tears fall.

_Winnie had realized something, something that made her flinch:  
She had fallen in love with her best friend, the Grinch.  
But she could not have him, this she sadly knew.  
For he already had a crush on a very different Who._

_She had seen, many a times, him staring away,  
Down at Whoville; down at Martha May Whovier.  
But even if he didn't love her, Winnie knew he was still her friend.  
And she knew she would be his friend until the end._

* * *

**A/N Hey, how you doing guys? :D (as I said on DeviantART, I made an intro, of sorts, for if/when I start Let's Plays on YouTube; I decided to use that for writing as well)**

**So, the reason this took so long to update was because I wanted to focus on my Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic. Now that it's done, I can focus on this. It took a while for me to start this, simply because I didn't know WHERE to start. But once I got an idea, I was able to come up with this.**

**The first half's mostly filler, showing off Winnie's new cloak, and how Grinch got his telescope.**

**I decided to work in Grinch's x-ray machine, and portray Winnie's heart as begin similar to his; instead of shrinking, hers cracked and gradually healed.**

**Now we know what Aaron did. I drew a lot of inspiration from the song _Last Christmas_ (use whichever version you like, they're pretty much all the same in terms of story) It was kinda tricky portraying Aaron's POV when he was thinking about the past, but I think I made it pretty believable. I'm not sure how many people hate him, but he probably deserved what he got, eh? Not sure if it was in-character for Grinch to do that, but I think he made an exception for his friend.**

**How many of you saw this coming? I think Winnie had a bit of a crush on Grinch when she was little; it pretty much disappeared after he left, but came back after she found him, and began living with him. But he likes Martha. I know I've said my piece about Martha, but Winnie herself doesn't like her; not just because Grinch likes her, but because of how she acted when they were young (you can look in past chapters [mostly chapter 8] to see fully why Winnie doesn't like her) Plus, Winnie's not just sad because she likes Grinch, and he likes Martha. She's also scared that if she tells him her feelings, it'll change their friendship. And she already lost him once. She doesn't want to lose him again over something like a crush. So, the best thing to do, in her mind, is to keep quiet.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**wolfimus prime: Sorry I took so long updating. But it's indeed back :D**

**Guest: Nah, I didn't forget. I just had trouble starting this chapter, and wanted to finish "Fire Dragons Don't Breathe Ice" (which it is :3) I'm guessing EVERYONE wanted to hug and console Winnie after her story, as well as beat up Aaron. Probably XD Another thing is Winnie not only doesn't like Martha, but she's also a bit intimidated by her, since she attracts the attention of most men, while Winnie feels average. Plus, as I said, she's scared that not only will Grinch not return her feelings, should she tell him them, but she could possibly lose him again.**

**grapejuice101: Thanks :) I'm glad you liked the last chapter; I hope you like this one too.**

* * *

**Four years later...**

_Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot.  
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not._

"Get on it, girls! All the good mistletoe's at the top!"

"Hey, Drew, I'll race you!"

"Not if I race _you_ first!"

Four teenagers—twin boys and two girls—were racing up the side of Mt. Crumpit, laughing and joking all the way. What they were unaware of was someone was watching them as they climbed.

"Last on to the top is a stinky old Grinch!" one of the boys laughed.

"Guys, where are we?" the brunette Who girl asked, trailing behind her blonde friend. "I think we should go back."

"What? You're scared of the Grinch!" the other boy teased.

"No!" the blonde girl scoffed, trying to make it seem like she was uninterested.

The boy dressed in a yellow coat jumped off of a rock in front of the girls and said in a creepy voice, "They say he lives up here in a big cave. And only comes down when he's hungry for the taste of..." He had turned slowly to look up the mountain, but then spun around quickly, startling his friend with a loud, "Who flesh!"

"Oh, Drew!" she huffed, smacking him in the arm.

"I heard a Who girl climbed up here, and he took her as prisoner," Drew's twin said. "They say she's still here!"

"You guys!" the other girl protested.

Both boys ran up the mountain, laughing and chanting all the way, "You're scared of the Gri-inch! You're scared of the Gri-inch!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Needless to say, after a few questionable sightings of the Grinch—and even seeing what looked like a woman with him as well—the furry, green monster had become something of a legend. Mother Whos would tell their children to be good, or else the Grinch would come down from the mountain and take them away. Young Whos would dare their friends to climb the mountain to find the ever-elusive Grinch, only to run back down, screaming in fright.

The boys had reached the largest ledge faster than the girls, leaving them to climb up the rocks on their own. "Wait for me!" the brunette laughed.

Once they reached the top, however, no one was laughing. Before the four teenagers was a large wooden door, made of green wood and framed with what looked to be iron. It was divided in half width-ways, so the top or bottom could be opened; there was a barred window on the top-half, the the bottom-half had a dog door.

The door was set against the stone, surrounded by icicles and rocks. The boys stood several feet before it, shivering, though the girls couldn't tell if it was from the cold or fear. They themselves didn't climb up any further. All four of them stared at the door, with only the sound of cold wind blowing around them.

Finally, the blonde girl whispered loudly, "Go on, touch it! Touch the door!" Then, she batted her eyelashes and smiled, "Do it for me, Stu."

Stu nodded hesitantly, and glanced at his brother. Both of them had fear in their eyes, though they weren't going to admit it. Staring at the door, they began shuffling closer, whimpering in fear. As they got closer, Stu reached out a gloved hand to touch it.

The door slowly opened, and it was dark inside, save for two large, glowing, red eyes. A green face popped out, with sharp yellow teeth, and roared loudly.

All four of the teenagers screamed in fright. Drew and Stu turned around and leapt off of the ledge as far as they could, and began somersaulting down the mountain. The girls ran down as well, and began somersaulting down too.

Had any of them stayed a minute longer, they would have seen that the monstrous head was nothing more than a fake. And the roars coming from the "monster" were from a brown dog attached to it, barking into a megaphone-like device, amplifying his voice.

"Well done, Max!" a deep, gravelly voice shouted from within the cave. "Serves them right, those Yuletide-loving, sickly-sweet, nog-sucking cheer mongers! I _really_ don't like them. No, I don't."

"The nerve," a female voice scoffed, obviously disgusted. "They hate when kids trespass in their backyards. Don't they think _we'd_ like to be left alone too?"

Grunting in reply, the gravelly voice yelled, "Max! Get our cloaks!"

"Grinch?" the female voice asked, confused.

"I've been much too tolerant of those Whovenile delinquents," Grinch announced, stepping out of the cave. "and their innocent, victim-less pranks."

A female Who exited the cave as well, quirking a thin eyebrow at her best friend's word usage. Her dry, red hair was in a high ponytail, with her bangs framing her round, freckled face. She wore a stained orange shirt, a ripped red skirt, white tights, and brown boots. Her large gray eyes glanced from her ranting friend down to Whoville, which had been looking rather festive for the past two weeks, even though tomorrow was Christmas Eve.

"So, they want to get to know me, do they?" Grinch asked rhetorically. "They want to spend a little 'quality time' with the Grinch, and his friend, Miss Winnie Whit?" He quickly turned around to face Winnie, making her jump. "I guess we _could_ use a little...social interaction." The corners of his mouth rose. And rose. And rose again, until he had a very tall Grinch Grin, as Winnie dubbed it.

"Stop it!" she shuddered, pushing him back a little. "That's creepy!"

"I know, that's why I do it," he said smugly.

Before she could answer, Max pawed at her leg. In his mouth were two brown cloaks: one made out of an old rug, and the other of sewed-together potato sacks. "Thank you, Max," Winnie smiled, taking the potato sack cloak. She went back into the cave to fetch her scarf, black coat and gloves, and Grinch's mask. By the time she had come back out, wrapping her scarf around her head so only her eyes were showing, and dressing in her coat and cloak, Grinch already had his own cloak on. "Shall we be going down via garbage disposal, or mountainside?" she asked, handing him the mask.

"I say down the mountain, so we don't cause a disturbance right away," he answered, hooking the mask's elastic around the back of his head, and letting the mask snap onto his face. "Ouch," he grunted.

Shaking her head with an amused smile, she pulled her hood on and said, "Lead the way, Mr. G."

* * *

As soon as they reached the edge of Whoville, Grinch giggled under his breath, taking bouncing tip-toe steps down the sidewalk. Winnie and Max simply followed after him. It was obvious that Grinch had plenty of pranks up his sleeves for the day. And who was Winnie to make him calm down? Besides, she had a couple of funny ideas herself.

They found a three-seated bicycle parked by the sidewalk. Holding a finger to her covered lips, Winnie crouched down by the bike and fiddled with some of the screws, covered by the long sleeves of her cloak. As soon as she stood up, three Whos came out of a shop, piled their packages in the baskets on the bike, and wished Winnie and Grinch a merry Christmas.

"Oh yeah, you bet," Grinch nodded awkwardly as the trio rode off. "Ho, ho ho, and...stuff."

The bicyclers didn't didn't get far before their bike fell apart, causing them, and their gifts, to fall onto the snow. "Oh my! Someone has vandalized that vehicle!" Grinch exclaimed softly.

Winnie clasped her hands behind her back, whistling innocently with a smirk under her scarf.

"You see, Max? The city is a dangerous place!"

"Oh, my friend," Winnie chuckled as they continued down the sidewalk, "you should see where _I_ used to live. Now _that_ is a city."

_The Grinch hated Christmas,  
The whole Christmas season.  
Now, please, don't ask why,  
No-one, save for Winnie, quite knows the reason._

The police chief, Officer Wholihan, passed them by and tipped his hat with a smile. "Top of the day," Grinch greeted. Once the Who passed, Grinch muttered under his breath, "Flatfoot."

Winnie rolled her eyes with a smirk, but said nothing. She jumped when he suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, kids! Here's a present for ya! Be sure to run real fast with it!"

She turned in time to see Grinch talking to two Who children, one of which was holding a hacksaw. They took off down the sidewalk, laughing. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"I found it," he shrugged.

"...Was that mine?!"

"You needed a new one. It was rusted."

She sighed heavily, and made a mental note to buy a new hacksaw.

_It could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right,  
Or it could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.  
But I think that the most likely reason of all,  
Was that his heart was two sizes too small._

"Hey, strangers!" a solicitor dressed in a red and green leaf-patterned suit and hat said, holding a candy cane-like cane in front of Grinch, causing him to stop. Winnie crashed into his back with a grunt, and she felt Max bump against the backs of her legs. "Won't let'cha go 'till you buy a chapeau!"

Grinch turned to the solicitor, lifted his mask, and belched in the Who's face. He nudged the cane away and continued on, laughing to himself, as the solicitor fell to the ground with a stunned expression. Winnie shook her head and stepped over the Who, clicking her tongue. "Solicitors," she sighed as she and Max caught up with Grinch. "Never liked them anyway."

"Dad!"

"Dad!"

* * *

**A/N How're you guys doing? :D**

**Since its now December, I feel like I really need to buckle down and get some chapters out, since this is, after all, a Christmas movie.**

**Now the movie has started. I thought it'd be a neat idea to start out the way the movie started: with the teenagers climbing Mt. Crumpit and daring each other to touch Grinch's door. Also, in case anyone was curious, Winnie and Grinch are both 33 years old.**

**I decided that rather than accompany Grinch to the post office, Winnie will go off on her own, shopping. After all, she needs to replace her hacksaw XD I felt that she didn't need to be in every movie scene, and I'd have the opportunity to write original scenes for the story.**

**Today's the day I turn...twenny-wun (I love that vine XD)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Emily: No, she doesn't XD**

**grapejuice101: Thanks :D**

**wolfimus prime: I'm glad you like it :)**

**Guest: Thanks :D And I did, thank you. That won't be for probably a while, but I can't wait to write it.**

* * *

The two Who boys and Who girls came running up—or rather, waddling up, as they were all covered in snow and seemingly frozen. "What happened to you?!" the mail-Who, who wore large glasses and always wore his mail-cap, exclaimed.

"It was the Grinch!" they exclaimed.

Suddenly, everyone skidded to a stop. Whos bumped into other Whos, cars crashed into other cars, and even the megaphones playing Christmas music screeched to a halt. "Grinch?!" a group of women cried out, sounding frightened.

"Whattaya want?!" Grinch yelled.

Winnie felt her heart nearly stop at his yell. She covered his mouth through his mask with her gloved hand, and exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "Grinch?! Oh-no!"

Grabbing her by the arm, he ducked down, taking her with him, and they both hurried to the alley. They peaked out, both scowling under their face covers as Mayor May-Who appeared, followed by Whobris. "Did someone just say 'Grinch'?" he asked firmly.

"Hello Mayor May-Who, sir," the mail-Who smiled nervously.

Sighing softly, the mayor beckoned him forward with a finger.

"C'mon, let's get some nosebleed seats," Grinch whispered, nudging Winnie's arm.

Nodding, she followed him up a fire escape onto a tall building. He sat down so he was facing the mayor, and patted the roof next to him. "Spit-straws out?" he asked cheekily, pulling a straw out of his cloak.

"Spit-straws out," she smirked, sitting down. She brandished her own straw and clinked it against Grinch's. They both prepared large, wet spitballs and shoved them into the straws. Grinch pushed his mask up, and Winnie pulled her scarf down a little. As they held the straws to their lips, she held up three fingers. He nodded, and they both aimed at their target. She held up two fingers, and then one. They both took deep breaths, and blew through the straws as hard as they could.

Even at their height, they saw May-Who flinch, and then feel at his cheek with a confused expression. "Bullseye!" Winnie grinned, fist-pumping, as Grinch giggled under his breath. They high-fived each other, fixed their mask and scarf, and climbed back down to the ground. Once the crowd had cleared, they stepped out into the open.

"I think I'm gonna go do some shopping," Winnie said. "You and Max have fun without me."

"All right, your loss," Grinch shrugged before running down the sidewalk. Max trotted after him.

Shaking her head with a smile, the disguised Who walked in the opposite direction to the grocery store. She bought some food, and a few sanitary items. As she was checking out, she heard a loud crash from outside. Looking out a window, she saw several Whos on the ground, shaking and rubbing their heads. She snickered under her breath, wondering if Grinch had anything to do with it.

"Hmm, seems some Whos are a little _too_ into the Christmas spirit," the cashier remarked. "You be careful out there."

Nodding, Winnie took her bags and left the grocery store for the hair salon for hair supplies. As she reached for the door, she heard familiar laughter. She looked over her shoulder to see her old friends, Rudy, Helga, and Jamie, across the street, talking and laughing.

She smiled wistfully as she watched them. There were times when she missed her friends terribly, and thought about writing to them. But she never did because she selfishly didn't want to be bombarded with questions; she didn't even know if they would even write back. She often wondered what they thought of the last letters she wrote to them five years prior, and how they thought of her now.

Shaking her head, Winnie stepped into the hair salon.

* * *

By the time she was done shopping, night had fallen. She was on her way to the garbage chute when she heard a loud, "Well then, you better go catch it!"

She smirked, recognizing the voice, and the following laugh. "Had fun today?" she asked, approaching the direction it had come from.

"Oh, yes!" Grinch grinned, leaning on his arm against the telephone. He sighed, "That's a good one! That _is_ rich... Let's go home."

Winnie nodded, and she and Max followed Grinch to the chute. He popped open the lid, and just as Max was going to jump in, he exclaimed, "Ah! Fleas before beauty, thank you."

Groaning, Max stepped back from the chute. "Ladies first, _thank_ you," Winnie smiled, pushing past Grinch and climbing into the chute. After making sure her bags were tied tightly, she set them down at her feet, and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Rolling his eyes, Grinch clambered in as well, actually making sure to not step on the bags. "Come on, hurry up!" he urged Max, "Slowpoke."

The dog jumped in, and Grinch hit the button. He and Winnie exclaimed in surprise as the floor dropped beneath their feet, and they were sent sliding through the tunnel. "There's got to be a better way!" she heard him scream. She simply laughed; out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max roll onto his back silently.

Finally, all three fell out of the chute and into the dump. Max pushed himself to his feet and shook himself off. Winnie had rolled a ways away, and sat up on her knees, sneezing and brushing herself off. Grinch sat up and sighed heavily, "A car would have paid for itself by now!"

"We can't really afford one though," Winnie replied, standing and looking for her bags. "I kinda wish they'd build a ski lift up here though."

Before Grinch could reply, there was a rumbling in the pipe. "Oh goody!" he grinned. "Another load coming down."

"Watch out, Max!" Winnie said, finally finding the last of her bags.

Max jumped away just as a few full, red garbage bags fell down out of the chute. Grinch held open his arms with a happy squeal, and one of the bags fell against his chest. He turned his head away and groaned. "What's wrong?" Winnie asked, having climbed out of the dump.

"That stench... It's fantastic!"

She smiled and shook her head as he told Max to grab the other bag. "We'll come back for the rest," he said, leading the way to the door. "Of course, when I say 'we', I mean you or Winnie."

She heard Max groan as he dragged another garbage bag through the snow. "It's amazing what those Whos just throw away," she sighed bitterly, glancing back at the dump.

"Oh, well," Grinch shrugged, "one man's toxic sludge is another man's potpourri."

Max barked a couple of times, muffled by the bag clenched in his teeth. "I dunno, some kind of soup."

"Actually, I read it's a bunch of dried plants in a bowl, used for decoration and scent."

"You shouldn't believe everything you read."

Winnie paused, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Where'd you hear that?"

"I read it somewhere," he shrugged dismissively.

She just chuckled and continued to follow him.

* * *

Soon, they made it to the door just as the wind picked up and it began snowing. Grinch pulled the door open and stepped inside. Winnie held the door open for Max, and walked in herself, letting the door fall shut. When the light turned on, she scrunched her eyes shut and blinked several times. She watched as Grinch walked over to a mini-catapult, put his garbage bag on it, and pulled a lever. The catapult launched the bag through the air and crashed into the face of a large ad of May-Who, promoting him for cheer-meister of the Whobilation. "Ooh! Sweet!" Grinch grinned.

As the generator began to power up, Winnie took Max's bag, nudged Grinch aside, and set the bag on the catapult. Glaring at the ad, she pulled back the lever as hard as she could, launching the bag. "Right in the kisser!" Grinch laughed.

"I still think we should find a full-body picture, and have the catapult aimed lower," she sniffed, pulling her cloak off.

Grinch glanced at Max with raised eyebrows before turning to Winnie. "You're scary sometimes."

"I know," she grinned cheekily, hanging up her cloak and picking up he bags.

By now, the lights were beginning to come on. Grinch pulled off his cloak and tossed it onto the antler coat rack. "_Be it ever so heinous,_" he began singing to himself, brushing his hair back.

Giggling, she joined him by his side as all of the lower level lights came on, and joined in, "_there's no place like ho-o-o-ome._" They stayed there for a few seconds before Grinch put the backs of his wrists on his sides and "stalked" away, as Winnie called it. She followed Max down another pathway as she heard Grinch say, "Those Whos are hard to frazzle, Max. But, we did our best, and that's what matters."

"That's the spirit," she chuckled, putting away the groceries and her hair products, and changing out of her "afternoon clothes", and into her thin, yet warm, red and white-striped pajamas and black cat slippers. Once she was done and stepped out, she heard him cry out joyfully, "Yes! Down a size and a half!"

She looked to see him standing behind the x-ray machine, and shook her head with a slight smile. She could never understand why he wanted to keep his heart smaller than normal. But she never asked him about it, since she was sure that it was related to his past.

"And _this_ time, I'll _keep_ it off."

"That's what they all say," Winnie remarked, snickering when Grinch turned to glare at her, noticing that he was wearing his dark-green robe. She rolled her eyes as he made like he threw a stick for Max to fetch, only to wink at her and say, "There's no stick. I'm smarter," he smiled smugly, walking up to his bed to check his answering machine.

Winnie went in the opposite direction to the "kitchen" to prepare some food for herself. She had bought a packet of noodles with vegetables, and set about boiling water and cooking her food. After several minutes, she poured the food into a bowl, and was about to eat when she saw Max sitting at her feet, looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes and a wagging tail. "I guess you deserve something after Grinch tricked you," she smiled, pulling several noodles out of the bowl and holding them out to the dog. He took the food out of her fingers gently and gobbled them down.

As Winnie ate her food, using the plastic spork that came with the noodles, Grinch remarked from his easy chair, "I tell you, guys, I don't know why I ever leave this place. I've got all the company I need, right here," he pointed down at the ground in emphasis, and then crossed his arms behind his head. Then, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, he shouted, "Hello!"

_Hello... lo..._ came back the echo.

Giggling, Winnie yelled, "How are you?!"

_How are you... are you..._

"She asked you first!"

_She asked you first... you first..._

"Oh, that's _really_ mature, saying exactly what we say!" Grinch huffed.

_Mature... exactly... what we say..._

Staring at the ceiling for several seconds, Grinch winked at Winnie and shouted, "I'm an idiot!"

_You're an idiot... an idiot..._

Winnie stifled a laugh, nearly snorting noodles out of her nose. Grinch jumped back in his chair and looked around hurriedly, as if there were a ghost in the cave. "All right, fine!" he whispered loudly, scowling. "I'm not talking to you anymore; in fact, I'm going to whisper! So that by the time my voice reverberates off the walls, and gets back to me, I won't be able to hear it!" He turned to Winnie, who after finishing her coughing fit, gave him a thumbs up and a grin.

_...You're an idiot... an idiot..._

Grinch stared up at the ceiling in shock. "Hmm, seems we have a rogue echo," Winnie remarked, glancing up at the ceiling as well.

* * *

After an hour, Winnie decided to retire for the night. She brushed her teeth and hair, kicked off her slippers, pulled on her blue pointed nightcap, and snuggled into bed under her quilt. But she didn't fall asleep yet. She looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought

Even if she didn't care for Christmas anymore, she still missed it. She remembered the joy she would feel in the morning, and it would last the whole day, through opening gifts, singing Christmas songs, and spending time with her family. And so much had spoiled the holiday that she rarely ever felt that spark of joy, if not ever. And that made her incredibly sad.

Not to mention that the Whos celebrated Christmas like it was the most important holiday, sucking the joy out of the whole day. Even back when it was her favorite holiday, Winnie still enjoyed the others as well.

She sat up, leaned her head back, and began to sing under her breath, "_Where are you, Christmas? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away? Where is the laughter you used to bring me? Why can't I hear music play?_"

She held her old stuffed elephant and stared at its goofy face. She could already feel her eyes begin to sting. "_My world is changing, I'm rearranging. Does that mean Christmas changes too?_" She sighed softly, paying no mind to the single tear falling down her freckled cheek. "_Where are you, Christmas? Do you remember the one you used to know? I'm not the same one; see what the time's done. Is that why you have let me go?_"

Finally, Winnie turned and laid down in her bed, hugging the stuffed elephant tightly to her chest, and drifted off to sleep, her cracked and scarred heart heavy with emotion.

* * *

**A/N How're you guys doing? :D**

**I had a bit of trouble with this one towards the end, but I think I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.**

**While I thought it was funny when Grinch yelled in his normal voice out in public, and then disguised it, I thought it'd be funnier that Winnie covered his mouth and disguised her own voice, if that makes sense.**

**As I said, Winnie doesn't need to be in every scene in the movie. So, she doesn't meet Cindy Lou right away (even thought she technically met her five years prior; see Chapter 10) That won't be until later ;)**

**I thought the echo scene in the movie was hilarious, and wanted to incorporate Winnie into it somehow. In hindsight, it's kinda funny how she's not afraid of an echo that speaks on its own.**

**This version of "Where Are You Christmas?" is the one sung by Faith Hill. I figured, since we didn't see Cindy Lou sing her version in this story, that it wouldn't hurt to have Winnie sing it. I liked how the music video for the song was basically Faith Hill inserting herself into the story XD**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**grapejuice101: Thanks :) No, she'll hear about it when Cindy Lou comes to the cave.**

**Guest: Thanks :D Seeing as he was without her for twenty years, he's bound to not be exactly right in the head, even after her living with him for a few years.**

* * *

Winnie moaned as she slipped from deep sleep to groggy awakedness. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and groaned as she scratched her head and stretched her legs and toes under the quilt. She rolled from her front onto her back, stretched her arms back, and cracked her neck, sighing as she relaxed. Finally, she opened her eyes and sat up, only to turn around and wrap the quilt around her shoulders. Smacking her lips with a grimace, she reached out and grabbed her clothes with her fingertips, first her stained shirt, then her tights, and finally her skirt. She changed clothes under her covers, and stepped out onto the floor, squealing at the cold seeping through her socks from the stone. She shoved her feet into her slippers until she found her boots, which she exchanged for her cat slippers.

She brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and walked into the main part of the cave, yawning. She began heating up some water in a mug, grabbed an apple, and broke it in half. She stuck one half of the apple into her mouth, broke the other half in half, and squeezed one of the fourths into the hot water. She dropped the two fourths into Max's bowl, took out a jar of honey she had bought the previous day, and squeezed some into the water as well. As she stirred the water, apple-juice, and honey mixture, Max padded in from outside. "Good morning," Winnie greeted.

Max huffed a noise that sounded like a scoff and glanced at a cracked clock on the wall. She turned to it, and blushed when she saw the time. "Good afternoon, then," she said sheepishly, picking up her mug. She blew across the top, and took a sip of the drink. "Where's Grinch?"

The dog glanced back the way he had come before grabbing a piece of apple into his mouth and chomping down on it. As Winnie ate her half of the fruit, she realized what day it was: Christmas Eve. The anniversary of Grinch's worst memory, and one of hers as well. She looked forlornly down at the ground, sighing softly.

When she was done with her drink and food, she placed the empty mug on the counter, pulled on her coat, and stepped outside. Grinch was standing on the ledge, hands on his hips. When she stood next to him, he was glaring darkly down at Whoville, panting heavily and angrily. "...Hi," she said in a small voice, clasping her hands behind her back.

He merely grunted in reply. She sat back on her heels, wrapped her arms around her knees, and stared down at Whoville, feeling sad and angry at the same time. She missed Whoville, and she missed Christmas. But she was angry at Whoville and Christmas at the same time.

_So, whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes,  
He stood outside his cave, hating the Whos._

Growling, Grinch crouched down briefly and grabbed a phone book she hadn't seen, and opened it. He slammed his finger down on a page and said, "Aardvarkian Abakenezer Who, I" he took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "_hate you!_"

She jumped with a squeal and covered her ears. Even though she liked living up on Mt. Crumpit, there was a small hint of fear inside of her that there would be an avalanche any day; one wrong step, or one careless shout, and she would hear or see snow falling down the mountain with a roar, taking anything in its path. She shuddered at the thought of it.

Grinch glanced down at her, and she glanced up at him, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Aaron B. Benson-Who," he glanced down at Winnie again before concluding with a venomous, yet softer tone, "I hate _you! _Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate. Double-hate... _loathe entirely!_"

_I wonder if he got to you-know-who,_ Winnie pondered. _Then again, his name starts with a D._ Her eyes widened as she began to hear music. "Do you hear what _I_ hear?" she asked, standing up.

"I do," he growled, gripping the book tightly. "It's their Whobilation!"

_He snarled with a sneer._

His eyes widened, and he dropped the book. "Do you know what this means?" he gasped.

"It's going to get even noisier?"

"Indeed, my dear friend! Tomorrow's Christmas!" He suddenly grabbed Winnie by the shoulders and shook her back and forth. "It's practically here!" He dropped her in the snow and hurried back into the cave. "Max! Fetch me my sedative!"

Winnie pushed herself to her feet, rubbing the back of her head and brushing the snow off of her backside. Her eyes widened when she realized what he had just yelled. "Oh no, not again!" she moaned, running into the cave as well. She found him just in time to see him smack himself in the forehead with a large rubber mallet. He groaned in pain and fell to the floor. She rushed to his side, and sighed with relief when she realized he only knocked himself out again.

"How many times do I have to tell him before he listens?" she huffed. "This never helps. He only wakes up with a headache." Shaking her head, she looped her arms under his armpits and began dragging him up to his bed. It was no easy task though; she wasn't as strong as he was, and she had to take breaks every now and then, especially when she reached the incline.

Finally, she managed to get to the bed. She pulled the quilt back, and then, cracking her knuckles, she pushed him so he was sitting up, wrapped her arms around him from behind, and heaved him onto the bed. Then, she pushed his legs on as well. Sighing, she pulled the quilt over him and walked back down to the lower level of the cave.

It was only ten minutes later, and the noise from down in Whoville had gotten so loud, Winnie and Max could hear it plainly. Grinch began to stir in his bed before screaming and sitting up, as if he had awoken from a nightmare. Realizing what was happening, he grabbed his pillow and folded it over his head in attempt to block out the noise. But it barely kept anything out of his ears. "_Blast_ this Christmas music!" he shouted. "It's joyful _and_ triumphant." He jumped out of bed, grabbed several blenders, and put them on the table. Then, he gathered Winnie's boxes of nails, and dumped them into the blenders.

"Must drown them out!" he exclaimed, switching on all of the blenders. Even with the blenders attempting to blend the nails, creating an awful noise, it didn't help. "Not working!" He saw Winnie off to the side, looking for something—probably her nails. "Can you believe the audacity of those Whos?!" he growled.

She walked right past him, still looking around. "Winnie? Winnie!" Grinch scowled darkly, grabbed her shoulder, and turned her around. She screamed in fright. "Are you ignoring me or what?!"

She held up a finger, and pulled two small things out of her ears. "What did you say?" she asked.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What are those?"

"Earplugs," she answered, showing him the rubber cone-shaped objects.

"Where did you get them?"

"In Whoville yesterday. Can you blame me? I can't even hear myself think!"

"... Give them to me!" He reached out to grab them.

But she was faster. "No!" she shouted, clenching both earplugs in one hand and running off. "They were the last pair! They're mine!"

"Gimme!" He began chasing her around the cave.

"No!"

"Winnie!"

"You don't even _have_ visible ears!"

Max poked his head out around the trashcan he was hiding behind, and watched his two companions run around the cave, shouting at each other over the noise from Whoville.

Finally, Winnie had run past Grinch's bed when she got an idea. She ran back and climbed onto the bed. Still holding the earplugs in the palm of her hand, she grabbed the handles of the zip-line. Grinch stood at the side of the bed, and his eyes widened when he realized what she was going to do. "Don't you dare!" he threatened, pointing a finger at her.

Not listening to him, she kicked herself off of the bed and sailed down towards the lower level of the cave. "Wheee!" she shouted, barely lifting her feet up to avoid the easy chair. She let the zip-line go and somersaulted onto the ground. She picked her earplugs up off of the ground, and blew a raspberry at him over her shoulder. Smiling proudly, she looked back ahead and began walking away.

Growling, Grinch snuck down, and leaped at her, grabbing her around the middle. She squealed in surprise as she fell forward. She held out her hands to try and catch herself, and the earplugs flew from her hand and rolled away. Groaning, she lifted her head and glared over her shoulder at Grinch, who was laying on her back. They both looked forward, only to see Max sniffing at the earplugs. "Max!" she exclaimed.

"Max, no! Leave those alone!"

"Don't you dare!"

Not listening to them, Max grabbed up the earplugs into his mouth and gulped them down. Winnie and Grinch both groaned in frustration. "Thanks a lot," she grumbled, pushing herself up.

"Me?!" he shouted indignantly, standing up and crossing his arms.

"Yes, you! If you didn't grab me, I'd still have them!"

"Oh, quit complaining," he waved dismissively. "You'll get them back in a few hours."

Max coughed loudly, shaking his head. "... Or a few minutes." Grinch remarked.

Winnie pulled a disgusted face. "I'm not putting them in my ears, no matter if I get them back now or later! You can _have_ them!" She stomped away, covering her ears.

Grinch groaned in realization, having forgotten about the noise during the fight for the earplugs.

* * *

**A/N How're you guys doing? :D**

**I had a bit of fun starting this chapter. Winnie's not really a morning person; then again, neither am I.**

**The drink she made was just something I made up that sounded nice.**

**During this scene in the movie, when it transitioned from little Grinch to adult Grinch in the same place on the mountain, I felt really bad for him. He was definitely remembering some bad memories at that time. Not even Winnie could help; she has her own bad memories too. So, it's just two best friends wallowing in the shared misery.**

**If you guys don't remember, I got Aaron's full name from Grinch naming off the Whos he hated. I thought it'd be a neat "easter egg" of sorts, and it give him a reason to specifically hate him. Speaking of which, all I can say about Aaron is that we'll definitely be seeing him during the Whobilation ;)**

**I thought Grinch looked hilarious holding his pillow over his head XD I had the idea of him and Winnie fighting over earplugs for a while, and thought that not only would it be funny, but it would show that they have fights every now and then.**

**A very merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all :D**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**grapejuice101: Glad you found the last chapter funny XD Thanks.**

**legionnaireBlaze: I knew that Grinch had reached the mayor's name in the book. Winnie wasn't sure, but she was sure of it; and she was making a joke of how she called him by his nickname more than his actual name.**

**Guest: Thanks :D Definitely, especially with how... eccentric Grinch is. They actually did act like that XD I did have happy holidays, thank you. I hope you did too :)**

* * *

After the incident with the earplugs, Grinch tried everything he could think of to overpower the noise. As he once said to Winnie, in his opinion, the best thing to fight fire with was fire. Or in the case of the current situation, noise with more noise.

"I thought you hated how loud the Whos were," she had said dryly.

"It's not just the noise, my dear," he said, holding a long finger up. "It's the happiness and jolliness of the noise!"

Now, Winnie wondered if they would grow deaf to any kind of noise, happy, jolly, or not. "He'd probably like that," she grumbled under her breath.

Not that she needed to be quiet. Grinch had pushed out a giant cymbals-playing monkey into the middle of the cave. Now he was bouncing around on a jackhammer while Max watched from a trashcan. Winnie simply stood to the side and covered her ears. Between the Whos' music, the monkey's cymbals, and now the jackhammer, she was sure she would have a headache for the rest of the day.

She flinched when she heard a crash—surprisingly over the noise of everything else. A second later, Grinch yelled, "Owie!"

"Are you okay?" she shouted, taking her hands off of her ears.

"Does it sound like it?!"

"I dunno, sounds like you crashed and hurt yourself," she snickered.

Grinch growled at her as he pushed the jackhammer off of his legs and stood up. "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," she smiled brightly.

"Blast this blasted noise!" he yelled. He stomped over to the monkey, and stuck his head between the cymbals, allowing them to crash against his head.

"I hate when he does that," Winnie whined, covering her eyes with her hands. After several seconds, she heard loud explosions and mechanical whines. When she peeked out through her fingers, she saw Grinch standing up straight and holding the monkey's cymbals together, causing the machine to break and power down.

"Grinch, I just fixed that last year!" she groaned, clenching her fists and straightening her arms down at her sides. She blinked in confusion when she realized there was someone else in the cave with them: a little Who girl dressed in a red overcoat trimmed in white, red tights, and black shoes. Her blonde hair was styled in a tower on top of her head with various braids and curls jutting out, and she had red and white earmuffs.

The girl glanced between Grinch and Winnie with wide, blue eyes. The older Who cocked her head, raising an eyebrow at the child. What she found most confusing was that she didn't seem frightened; instead, she was fascinated. Perhaps she was good at masking her true emotions?

Grinch slowly turned down towards her and drawled, "... Hello, little girl... how _dare_ you enter the Grinch's lair!" he suddenly shouted, spreading his arms out in a flourish. "The impudence! The audacity! The unmitigated gal! You called down the thunder; now, get ready for the _boom_! Gaze into the face of fear!"

"All right, I think we've terrified the poor girl enough," Winnie said, walking over and patting Grinch's shoulder. She turned to the child and asked, "What _are_ you doing up here?"

The little girl pulled off her earmuffs and said, "Mr. Grinch, Ms. Winnie, my name is Cindy Lou Who."

_Lou Who... where have I heard that name?_

"You see?!" Grinch suddenly yelled, making both Winnie and Cindy Lou jump. "Even _now_ the terror is welling up inside you," he grinned, circling around the child.

"I'm not scared," she shook her head.

"Denial is to be expected in the face of pure evil."

Winnie snorted, and hid her oncoming snickers with a hand as he began snarling like a rabid dog. "I don't think so," Cindy Lou said loudly over the growls.

"... Doubt?!" he shouted, standing up straight. "Another unmistakable sign of the heebie-jeebies! Now you're _doomed_!"

As he jumped around, rambling about how Cindy Lou should be terrified, Winnie simply shook her head with a smile. "_Now_ you're just being silly," she said.

"Silly, am I?!" he exclaimed, pausing to lay a hand on his chest and look humiliated. "Did you not forget how terrified _you_ were upon meeting me?"

"I wasn't _that_ scared." She turned to Cindy Lou, who looked confused, and a little amused, and winked at the little girl with a smirk. The child's smile widened.

Finally, having tired himself out, Grinch stood in front of the two Whos, panting tiredly. "Um, maybe you need a time-out," Cindy Lou suggested.

Winnie couldn't help it; she burst out laughing at Grinch's dumbfounded expression. She covered her mouth with both hands, but continued to laugh. Cindy Lou began giggling as well. Grinch stood up straight and crossed his arms with a scowl. "Kids today," he grumbled under his breath, "so desensitized by movies and televisions. And I thought _you_ were on _my_ side," he turned to Winnie with a darker glare.

"I'm sorry," she snickered, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes.

Sniffing at her, he turned abruptly and yelled at Cindy Lou, "Whattaya want?!"

Both she and Winnie jumped at the sudden shout, but the former smiled again and said, "Mr. Grinch, I came to invite you," she glanced down at a piece of paper she pulled out from under her cloak, "to be holiday cheer-meister."

Winnie's smile melted from her face. Grinch pulled a confused expression and said, "Uh... holiday Whobie-what-y?"

"Cheer-meister," Cindy Lou corrected with a chuckle. "And of course you're invited too, Ms. Winnie."

"Huh?" he grunted, looking down at the paper.

Winnie looked over his shoulder. The paper was an invitation; it read,

'By the spirit of the season, the Organizing Committee of Whobilation One-Thousand cordially invites you to be our Holiday Cheer-Meister at the Whobilation One-Thousand Celebration.

Celebrate and dine with friends at 7:30 PM.

R.S.V.P. A.S.A.P.

Holiday Attire.'

Grinch threw his head back, laughing hysterically. Winnie had to back away quickly to avoid getting hit in the chest by his shoulder. "That's a good one," he grinned, pointing down at the invitation.

"Sorry, sweetie," Winnie shrugged at Cindy Lou's confused expression. "Christmas and us don't mix. Since you know our names, I thought you'd know that as well."

"I do—"

"Then I don't really know why you'd bother trying." She followed Grinch as he marched around the cave towards the door, probably meaning to escort the child out.

And sure enough, Cindy Lou followed close behind. "I know you two hate Christmas, but what if it's all a big misunderstanding?"

"Don't care," he deadpanned.

"'Misunderstanding'?" Winnie snorted.

"I myself am having some Yuletide doubts. But maybe if the two of you reunite with the Whos, and be a part of Christmas—"

"'Maybe if the two of you reunite with the Whos, and be a part of Christmas'," Grinch mocked before barking over his shoulder, "Grow up!"

"He's right, it's not that simple."

"—then maybe it'll be all right for me too!"

"Oh, so you're doing this for your own gain?" Winnie scowled, turning and walking backwards.

"No, it's nothing like that!" Cindy Lou protested.

"I'm sorry, your session is over. Please make another appointment with the receptionist," Grinch said, gesturing at Winnie, who smiled in amusement, "on the way out."

"Please, please," she continued, "you _have_ to accept the award!"

Grinch suddenly froze in place, and Winnie bumped into his back. She backed away with a groan and rubbed her nose, which had crashed against his upper back. She remembered the Cheer-Meister getting a crown and trophy when they were elected, but she never thought much of such prizes.

"Award?" Grinch smirked, obviously not thinking along the same path as his best friend. He suddenly turned around, startling Winnie, and grabbed Cindy Lou by the shoulders. "You never mentioned... an award!"

"She didn't have time to," Winnie muttered.

"Yeah," Cindy Lou nodded at Grinch, "with a trophy and everything!"

"... And I won?"

"You won!"

He turned to Winnie and said, "So that means there were losers!"

"I guess..." Cindy Lou agreed, sounding confused.

"Don't stroke his ego further," Winnie advised.

"A town full of losers!" Grinch exclaimed gleefully, letting Cindy Lou's shoulders go.

Winnie jumped behind the little girl and caught her before she could fall back. "Too late," she remarked, smiling when Cindy Lou giggled.

"I like it," Grinch continued, tapping his fingers together. He crouched down at Cindy Lou's level and asked, "Was anyone... emotionally shattered?... Come on, a minute ago I couldn't shut you up! Details! Details!" he insisted, patting her cheek with his fingers.

"Well... the mayor wasn't happy."

"I'm not surprised," Winnie snorted, crossing her arms.

A grin worthy of the furry creature before her grew on Cindy Lou's face. "Martha May will be there."

_Of course she will be,_ the older Who scowled.

"Oh, she will?" Grinch asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm," Cindy Lou nodded.

"And she'll see _me_, a winner," he mused.

Cindy Lou nodded again. "I told you before, don't stroke his ego further," Winnie remarked, pulling a smile again. Judging by the younger Who's expression, it wasn't convincing. "What?"

As Grinch rambled on, Cindy Lou looked up at Winnie and asked, "Will _you_ come?"

"... I haven't been to the Whobliation in Seuss knows how long," Winnie sighed. "I don't know if I have anything fancy to wear."

"Wear something simple," Cindy Lou suggested. "Everyone else is festive enough for twice as much of Whoville."

"... You're a smart little cookie, aren't you," the older Who chuckled.

"So, you'll both come?" she asked again excitedly.

Glancing at Winnie, who shrugged with a smile, Grinch said, "Oh, all right."

Cindy Lou's smile brightened. "I don't know if it's that adorable twinkle in your eye, or that nonconformist streak, that reminds me of a younger, less-hairy me," Grinch remarked, laying a hand on the younger Who's back and leading her to the door. "Or perhaps a younger version of my friend here," he nodded at Winnie, "but you've convinced us! Who knows? This Whobilation could change my entire outlook on life!" he declared, walking over to a long rope hanging from the ceiling.

"Really?" Cindy Lou asked, standing in front of the door.

"No," he said abruptly, yanking down on the rope.

The floor opened under Cindy Lou, and the little girl was sent plummeting down the tunnel. Winnie could hear her giggles echo back up. "She's taking it better than _I_ did when I first used the tunnel," she remarked.

Grinch grunted in response, crossing his arms. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Max standing in front of him, holding something in his mouth: the invitation.

* * *

**A/N How're you guys doing? :D**

**I thought it'd be funny for Winnie to complain about Grinch breaking the cymbals-playing monkey, saying she fixed it the previous year.**

**This isn't their first times meeting Cindy Lou. Grinch met her earlier (I just didn't feel the need to write about it) and Winnie met her when she was a baby back in chapter 10. But Winnie doesn't quite remember her, and Cindy Lou definitely doesn't remember her.**

**As a kind-of spoiler, Winnie will be going down to Whoville before Grinch does.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**grapejuice101: Thanks :D Since the story's mostly in Winnie's POV, and she goes down to Whoville before seeing what Grinch will try on, we won't be able to see that, unfortunately.**

**Guest: Thanks :)**

**Emily: Took me a while to understand what you meant XD**

* * *

As Grinch took the invitation from Max, Winnie went to her room to find something to dress in for the Whobilation. At first, she tried to find something that was fancy and "appropriate" for such a big occasion. But then she stopped herself, remembering what Cindy Lou had suggested. _Besides, why should I give Whoville the decency of me blending in? I always tended to stand out, so why not continue to do so?_

Finally, she found something she liked. It was a strapless, holly-green dress, with a box-pleated skirt that reached down to above her ankles when she held it up against herself. If she were going to a normal party, it might have looked a little too fancy. But for the Whobilation, it wouldn't stand out whatsoever.

It was perfect.

Winnie changed into the dress, but wasn't able to find some nice shoes—just some elf shoes one of her friends gave her one Christmas as a joke. So she simply pulled on her white tights and brown boots with a shrug. She styled her hair up in a bun, and pulled a few ringlets of hair out. Then, she put on her half-star necklace so it laid on her chest just below the neckline, and then loosely wrapped a red scarf around her neck and arranged it so the ends fell between her sternum and shoulders. She wondered if Grinch still had his half of the necklace, or if he threw it away.

Shaking her head, she stepped out of her room, only to find Grinch lounging back on his easy chair with the invitation, ranting about being given an invitation on such short notice. Winnie silently agreed with him.

"Even if I wanted to go, my _schedule_ wouldn't allow it!" he continued, pounding a fist on the arm of his chair. He flipped open a moth-eaten book that was laying on an upside-down trash can next to the chair. "4:00, wallow in self-pity. 4:30, stare into the abyss. 5:00, solve world hunger," he turned to Winnie with a wink, "tell no one."

She chuckled with a slight eye-roll as he continued, "5:30, jazzercise. 6:30, dinner with me; I can't cancel that again. Winnie, dear, remind me to not cancel that."

"Duly-noted," she nodded.

"7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing... I'm booked," he shrugged.

Winnie stepped closer to him, leaned over his shoulder, and pointed at the book. "Well, you _could_ bump the loathing to 9:00," she pointed out, "thus having all of 7 and 8:00 free."

"Yes," he nodded, stroking his chin as she stood up straight. "Then I'd have time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, and slip slowly into madness... But what would I wear?!"

"That's for _you_ to decide. I already decided what _I'm_ wearing," she smiled cheekily, spinning and making her skirt billow out slightly.

Grinch blinked in surprise, as if seeing her new clothes for the first time. He stared at her with wide eyes, making her cock her head slightly. "... Too much?"

He blinked again, and shook his head, "No! Not at all! It's magnificent!" he exclaimed, bouncing to his feet. "But wait... I thought you _didn't_ go to the Whobilation."

"I didn't, but Cindy Lou coming here and inviting us made me think back to when I _did_ used to go," she explained, clasping her hands behind her back. "Plus, it gives me the opportunity to reunite with my friends and family."

"If they still remember you," he shrugged.

"Only one way to find out," she smiled, turning for the door.

"Wait, you're going now?!"

"Grinch, it's going to start soon, of _course_ I'm going now! And you _are_ going," she frowned when he opened his mouth. "That little girl took the time to climb all the way up here to deliver an invitation. You're going, and that's final."

"But what will I wear?!"

"Figure it out. You're clever, you'll think of something." She grabbed her coat on the way to the door.

Tapping his fingers nervously, he asked, "Can't you just say I called in sick?"

"Bye, Grinch," she giggled.

He crossed his arms with a huff. "You're a traitor."

"Love you too."

Winnie didn't realize what she had said until she was outside with the door shut behind her. She slapped her hand against her forehead with a pained grimace, and clenched her fingers into a fist. "It's okay, maybe he didn't get the context," she muttered under her breath as she took her fist off of her face. "Maybe he thinks I meant 'love him' in a friend-way. Just walk down the mountain and into the 'ville."

And that was what she did.

* * *

A few people stared at her curiously as she entered Whoville, but also wished her a merry Christmas jollily, to which she replied with a smile and nod.

Soon, she found Cindy Lou and her family. "Ms. Winnie, you actually came!" she exclaimed happily.

"Well, you seemed so adamant about me coming here, I couldn't refuse," Winnie answered.

"Is the Grinch coming?"

"... Erm," she hummed, scratching the back of her neck, "h-he's just trying to find something to wear. But if he doesn't come, I'll have to kick his furry butt," she winked, making Cindy Lou laugh.

"Excuse me, I don't think we've been properly introduced," Cindy Lou's mother said, as she and her husband stepped up. She wore a checkered dress, with a plate of cookies sewed to the front, and a red shawl over her shoulders trimmed in white. Her hair was styled in two large balls on top of her head, and she had a cup and saucer near one of the balls.

Her husband simply wore his mailman uniform with a checkered shirt pull on over, and his mailman hat. Cindy Lou's two older brothers wore similar checkered shirts, with plates of cookies on their chests, dark-green pants, and checkered, pointed hats.

"My name is Betty Lou Who," the woman introduced, shaking Winnie's hand. "This is my husband, Lou, and our two boys, Drew and Stu. I see you've already met Cindy Lou."

Lou was staring at Winnie with a calculated expression, until exclaiming, "You're the girl who fixed our telephone a few years ago! Winnie, wasn't it?"

Winnie's eyes widened. "I _knew_ 'Lou Who' sounded familiar! And yes, it _is_ Winnie, Winnie Whit." She turned to Cindy Lou, who looked confused, and explained, "I came to your house five years ago because I had fixed your telephone."

"The darned thing just wouldn't ring!" Betty declared.

"You were just a little baby Who," she smiled.

"Really?" Cindy Lou asked.

"Yeah, I kinda remember you," Drew nodded.

"Me too," Stu added.

"Winnie Whit, is that you?!"

"Apparently someone else does too," she grumbled under her breath, clenching her fists. She turned around and smiled forcibly, "Mayor! It's been so long, you haven't changed a bit!"

"Neither have you," Maywho chuckled. "Well, perhaps you've lost some weight, and gotten paler, and have acquired quite an... interesting odor."

"Kinda comes with the 'Living-with-the-Grinch' package," she quipped.

"Indeed. Er, speaking of which, any chance of him coming down?"

"Oh, he'll be here all right." _He better be._ "He wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Marvelous," Maywho smiled, though it looked forced and clenched. "If you'll excuse me," he nodded before leaving.

"Oh, you haven't changed at _all_, Disgustus," Winnie mumbled under her breath.

"Dis-what?" Cindy Lou asked.

"Oh, just a silly name Grinch and I called him when we were children," she chuckled.

"Say, girls, how about we get our nails painted before they announce the Cheer-Meister?" Betty suggested. "You look like you could use it, Winnie, if I may say."

Winnie looked at her fingernails; they were pitted, had white lines running up and down the lengths, and the ends were chewed and picked off. "I guess they _could_ use a little TLC," she shrugged.

"Plus we could get to know one another," Betty added brightly.

* * *

Winnie followed the mother and child duo to a nail salon that was hustling and bustling. Once they were seated, Betty asked about her past. "Well, I moved here to live with my grandparents when I was seven—before I lived in New Who City. I worked at Fix-it-Fred's until five Christmases ago; that was when I moved in with Grinch."

"How did you find him?" Cindy asked as her nails were painted red and green with white snowflakes.

"I heard about rumors of him being up on Mt. Crumpit, and investigated."

"People told me you were his best friend in school, is that true?"

"Who told you?"

"His moms, Mayor Maywho, and Ms. Whovier. When they told me about you, they sent me to your grandfather."

**_XxXxX_**

"_It's not often I get visitors."_

"_I came here because I was researching the Grinch, and was told about your granddaughter. People told me she was his best friend in school, is that true?"_

_The elderly Who leaned back in his wheelchair, smiling wistfully. "Ah, my little Winnie. She was indeed the Grinch's best friend. Those two went together like foxes and sockses. They did everything together, between playing and getting into trouble."_

"_I was told that she wasn't very nice."_

"_Ah, that was probably from the mayor," he sighed with a shake of his head. "He and Winnie never saw eye-to-eye. Even when they met briefly when she was only a visitor, he was cruel to her. In fact," he chuckled, despite himself, "she came up with the nickname 'Disgustus' near on the spot. It wasn't that funny at the time, but it's one of my favorite memories of her. But even though she **did** get into trouble—all children do, don't deny it—she was a sweetheart, and she loved the Grinch. Between you and I, I believe she was going to give him a Special Someone gift the day he ran away."_

"_And what was the Grinch like?"_

_Humming in thought, Luka answered, "He was quite the interesting fellow. He was... different from the Whos. And was quite the mischief-maker and trouble-starter. But he wasn't a bully; **he** was the one who was bullied. There were times when Winnie would get into a spat with the mayor, and the Grinch was the first to defend her. I think he saw her as a dear friend. She was so heartbroken the day he disappeared... she was never quite the same after that," he sighed sadly. "That, among other things, caused her to lose her Christmas spirit. And she used to love it too."_

"_What happened to her?"_

"_Well... five years ago, she found that the Grinch was living up in Mt. Crumpit. And the day after Christmas five years ago, I got a letter saying she had gone to live with him because of... consequences, let's just say. I hear of people saying they see someone up there, besides the Grinch, so I hope she's all right."_

_Feeling sorry for the older Who, Cindy Lou leaned close and asked, "Can you keep a secret?"_

"_Certainly," he chuckled, leaning closer as well. "They might pass it as the ramblings of an old Who."_

"_I'm planning on nominating the Grinch as Cheer-Meister, and if Ms. Winnie is up with him, I'll invite her to the Whobilation too. I'll tell her to visit you."_

"_Why, that would be splendid. Thank you very much, child."_

**_XxXxX_**

Winnie felt tears run down her cheeks, though she couldn't wipe them away at the moment. "I _do_ miss him," she sighed.

"Tell you what, they won't announce the Cheer-Meister for twenty more minutes, and the retirement home isn't too far away. Once you're done, you go over there, and visit him until then," Betty said.

"I'm not going to argue with that," Winnie nodded, finally regaining the use of her hands. She rubbed the tears from her cheeks, and admired her nails. They had been clipped and filed down, and were painted in red, white, green, silver, and gold. "Thank you both very much. I'll try to find you later."

Once she stepped out of the nail salon, she made a beeline for the retirement home. All of the elderly Whos were being wheeled out to attend the Whobilation, and she was just in time to see a familiar Who be led out. "... Hi, Grandpa," she said in a small voice, suddenly feeling very small.

His old gray eyes lit up at the sight of his granddaughter. "Oh, Winnie! My Winnie!" he exclaimed, holding out his arms.

Winnie bent down and hugged Luka, feeling her eyes water again. Recognizing her, the attendant left the two to their own devices, and went back into the building for another resident.

"I missed you, my little sugarplum," he sighed, kissing her cheeks.

"I missed you too. I promise I'll write more often, or maybe Grinch will let me use his phone."

"How _is_ the rascal?" he asked as she stepped back.

"Still as rascally as ever, if not a touch insane," she smiled. "But I'm keeping him in line."

"I'll bet you are. And you look so beautiful. You remind me of your grandmother when we attended the Whobilation. And speaking of the Grinch, is he coming down here?"

"... He better," she remarked as she began pushing Luka's wheelchair towards the direction of his other friends. "Cindy Lou went through all of that trouble of inviting us, so he'd better come down here."

* * *

A while later, it was time for the Cheer-Meister to be announced. Mayor May-Who stood behind a podium in front of a huge crowd, with Whobris at his side. Winnie stood in the crowd with Cindy Lou, who was looking rather gloomy, and her family. If she looked to her left, she could see Martha May Whovier; she was dressed in a similar dress as Winnie, except with a berry-red top and a billowing holly-green skirt, matching red opera gloves, a wide, fancy necklace, and a high hairstyle.

Winnie glared out of the corner of her eye at her former classmate. She heard from Lou that she and Betty were in a Christmas Light competition, and, as usual, Martha won. Winnie wondered if the voting had been rigged, especially since May-Who had been the one to announce the winner. "He'd do anything to get on Martha's good side," she remarked. "I'd have voted for you, Betty, if I had gotten here sooner."

"Thank you, Winnie," she smiled.

The band started a fanfare, and the crowd began to cheer. May-Who tapped the microphone and calmed down the crowd. "It is now time for our Holiday Cheer-Meister of the Year Award!" he announced with a smile that almost looked smug.

The crowd cheered loudly again, save for Winny and Cindy-Lou. Chuckling, May-Who exclaimed, "Congratulations, Mr. Grinch!" He gestured to his right, only to gasp in mock surprise, "He isn't here... What?! He didn't show?! Who could have predicted _this_?"

Winnie laid a hand on Cindy-Lou's shoulder and glared darkly at the mayor. But he wasn't the only person she was angry at at the moment.

May-Who caught Winnie's eye, and seemed to be surprised, if not a bit startled, at her eerie glare. "Well, I-I guess the award goes to th-the runner-up," he shrugged. He looked surprised and sympathetic, but Winnie knew it was all a front. _Grinch, I swear to Seuss if you don't show up, not only will I not fix that stupid monkey, I'll _hide_ the dumb thing until after next Christmas!_

"That's right," Whobris grinned, stepping to May-Who's side, "a man for whom Christmas comes, not once a year, but every minute of everyday! A handsome, noble man! A man who's had his tonsils removed _twice_!"

_Oh, get a room you two,_ Winnie growled, clenching her free fist. If she got close enough, she could sock Whobris across his brown-nosing face. But she didn't want to cause a scene, however much she also longed to shut the both of them up.

As May-Who began to talk about the experience of having his tonsils removed, there was a loud rumbling. Winnie turned around, confused about the sound at first. But then she recognized it: the garbage chute.

Either someone had flushed something down it... or something was coming out.

Sure enough, the latter theory was proven true. A green mass popped out of the chute, screaming, crashed against a large drum, and was bounced into a large banner. "Grinch?" Winnie muttered, stepping to the side next to Martha, who looked shocked as well.

The banner bounced the green mass back, and before she could blink, Winnie found herself on her back in the snow, with something heavy on top of her, and something pressed against her chest. "Hi, Winnie," a muffled voice said.

* * *

**A/N How're you guys doin'? :D**

**Believe it or not, I didn't just randomly choose a dress design and color for Winnie, it'll have some significance later ;)**

**One of the little things I came up with when coming up with Winnie and this story was her helping Grinch rearrange his "busy schedule" so he had time to attend the Whobilation. It's just one of those cute details, I think.**

**Like I said before, Winnie's a bit acquainted with the Lou Whos; just not enough that she would know them just from their last name or right off the bat. She needed a reminder.**

**I figured since Winnie's lived up in the mountain for about five years, she would change in some ways. Her losing weight doesn't have anything to do with lack of food; she just doesn't have a stomach of steel like Grinch does, and needs to be a bit pickier with what she eats. Of course, her paleness and "interesting odor" is from staying inside most of the day. She doesn't mind having these things pointed out; she realized these changes long ago, and they don't bother her.**

**I actually planned to skip right to the Whobilation, but figured it'd be nice to have Winnie not only bond with Cindy Lou and her family, but to also be reunited with her grandfather. The light competition is a reference to a deleted scene, where Betty and Martha were in a competition for Christmas lights (not sure if it was the quality or quantity) Betty had won, according to the voters, but Disgustus announced that Martha had won, since he always wants to get on her good side.**

**I had deeply considered whether Grinch would still crash into Martha, or into Winnie. In the end, I thought it'd be funnier if it was Winnie. Hopefully you guys don't mind the change.**

**I was at Claire's (a jewelry store) with my younger sister, and I saw a friendship necklace set in the shape of a star. That's significant because Winnie (and maybe still Grinch ;)) each have half of a star-shaped friendship necklace! I had thought they only came in heart shapes previously. I took a photo with my phone, and might post it on DeviantART or Tumblr, if you guys would like.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**grapejuice101: Thanks :D I try to sprinkle in references to other Dr. Seuss works (at least the ones I know) And they'll show up here...**

**Guest: Thanks :D He WAS able to go, he's just not able to participate in as much as others, since he's in a wheelchair.**

**Sun Goddess Amaterasu: I'm sorry you feel that way. But maybe I'll surprise you; maybe she WON'T end up with him in the end, you never know. But I took what you said into account, and am trying to make Winnie more flawed (especially with what happens in the end of this chapter) But please tell me something: how were you able to comment on/review the same chapter twice? Is this a new feature on the 'site or what? Tell me your secrets!**

**Emily: I'll admit, you're right XD Wasn't really a secret, seeing as the only pictures I have of Winnie is her in her elf costume XD**

**TheBeldam27: I added something like that ;)**

* * *

"He made it!" Cindy Lou exclaimed happily.

Winnie looked down, eyes widening and cheeks reddening when she saw what, or who, was on her: Grinch was laying on top of her, face buried into her chest. "Get off of me!" she yelled, pushing him back and scuttling backwards. "It's about time you got—what are you wearing?"

As he stood up, she looked him up and down: he was wearing light-orange-brown lederhosen, white socks, and black shoes. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing; he looked ridiculous.

"Have you seen a Who with a long trumpet in just his underwear?" he asked.

"In just his—" she blinked in realization as she stood up as well. "You know what, never mind. I don't wanna know," she shook her head.

Shrugging, Grinch glanced over his shoulder and grinned at Martha, who was both blushing and glancing jealously at Winnie, "Hello, Martha." He turned to face the Who crowd, and they all gasped in shock and fright.

May-Who stepped around the podium, frowning, but froze when Grinch looked his way. He took a step up the stairs, and then hurried up them. The crowd gasped and exclaimed again, and May-Who backed away as though Grinch had a weapon. The whole time, Winnie rolled her eyes and shook her head at her best friend's antics and the crowd's reaction.

Grinch slowly turned his head and stared out at the crowd, scowling. The crowd watched him with wide eyes; even Winnie was holding her breath, waiting for him to say something.

"... Boo."

Everyone either screamed or squealed in fright. Winnie could have sworn she heard one or two Whos faint.

"Hmm, hot crowd, hot crowd," he remarked, grinning. "I believe I'm here to," he paused to lick his teeth, "accept an 'award' of some kind. And, the child," he gestured to Cindy Lou, "mentioned a check."

"No, I didn't."

"No, she didn't."

Glaring at Winnie, he huffed, "All right, then give me the award. Come on, while I'm young!"

May-Who picked up one of the microphones and said, "Don't you worry, Mr. Holiday Cheer-Meister, you'll get your award! But first, a little family reunion." A fanfare began playing with each sentence he said, "They nursed you. They clothed you."

Out of the corner of her eye, Winnie saw two familiar women shuffling through the crowd. _This should be interesting._

"Here they are, your old biddies!"

_Biddies? They're not biddies, they're his mothers!_ She heard Grinch grumble something under his breath as Rose and Clarnella cooed about missing him. It was then she noticed Rose holding something in her hands. She snickered when she realized what it was.

The elderly Whos' friends came forward as well, and Grinch disappeared, with angry yells, in a small sea of giggling elderly women. When they parted, there stood Grinch, now wearing a white sweater with red and white-striped sleeves, a green tree in the middle that said "I heart X-mas", complete with a big red heart, and the whole thing was covered in jingle bells.

Grinch looked down at himself and shrieked. Winnie had to clap her hands over her mouth to muffle her laughter. He glared daggers at her, looking mortified and betrayed, but she simply shrugged.

"Put 'im in the Chair of Cheer!" an elderly Who exclaimed.

The crowd yelled in agreement, and several Whos came through the crowd, carrying the Chair of Cheer on their shoulders. It was a small red chair with a small Christmas tree, with bells, jutting out the back, and was mounted on two long white poles.

"Chair of Cheer?" Grinch asked in confusion. "What's the Chair of Cheer?" He turned to Cindy Lou with a glare and snapped, "You didn't tell me about the Chair of Cheer!"

"Please, Mr. Grinch?" she pleaded, clasping her hands in front of her, "please?"

He stood up straight, only to see the Whos coming for him fast. "No, no, no! I can't do it!" he protested. "Honestly, I'm not ready! It's too much, too soon!"

But they didn't listen. They set the chair down, pushed him onto it, and lifted him up again. "It's that time of year," May-Who declared, "The Cheer-Meister's ride in the Chair of Cheer!"

Even though the crowd was cheering, Grinch was less than pleased. "Put me down! I mean it! I've got a lawyer; there'll be hell to pay! Winnie, where are you?!"

"Sorry, Mr. G," she shrugged with a cheesy grin. "I was a repair-girl, not a lawyer."

"I don't care what you were, get me out of here!"

"Nope, sorry," she shook her head. "You agreed to this, so you'll have to go through it." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw May-Who staring after Grinch with what looked like a jealous glint in his eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows suspiciously. What was her childhood bully up to? She would have to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't humiliate her best friend.

"First, you'll put your taste-buds to the test, as you judge the Who Pudding Cook-Off!" the mayor announced.

Behind him, Whobris repeated what he had said, making it seem like there was an echo. Winnie smirked when May-Who turned to glare at him.

"Little Winnie!" Rose and Clarnella suddenly exclaimed, running up and hugging her tightly.

She grunted at the squeezing hug, but returned it regardless. "Evening, ladies. So lovely to see you."

"Oh, you haven't changed a bit!" Clarnella declared, cupping her face and kissing her cheeks.

"Not a bit," her sister agreed. "You look as beautiful as ever!"

"Thank you, ladies," she nodded. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

"Oh, yes! When we heard our little Grinch had been nominated for Cheer-Meister, we set to work making him that sweater!" Rose smiled, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief. "I'm so glad it fits him."

"We missed him so much," Clarnella sighed. "It's the best Christmas present we've ever gotten."

"I'm glad," Winnie smiled. "Even if he seems a bit... rough around the edges, I think deep down, he missed you too."

"You think so?"

"I lived with him for the past few years, so I'd like to think I know him at least a little bit."

"Oh, it looks like the Christmas Conga is starting!" Rose exclaimed.

"Will you be joining us, Winnie, dear?" Clarnella asked.

"Um, I don't think—"

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper," Rose chuckled, patting her arm. "Come join the fun! You haven't been down in such a long time."

_That's not a hundred percent true._ "Well, if you two insist," she smiled, shrugging. _I guess if Grinch has to suffer, I should as well. I helped push him into this mess, after all._

As they headed for the conga line, she noticed Grinch, who was standing at the head of the line, somehow unaware, looked a little pale, and the front of his sweater was messy. She grimaced, remembering that the pudding cook-off lasted a while, and wasn't all sugary and spicy, and everything nicey. She hoped he wouldn't get sick before the night was over.

She managed to squeeze herself into line behind Lou before it started. In front of her, she could hear Grinch trying to make up an excuse to leave. She whispered in Lou's ear, "If he asks, I'm not here."

He gave her a thumbs up with a chuckle. "Trying to get him into the spirit of things?"

"I guess you can say that," she shrugged. She giggled when she saw he was actually starting to enjoy himself, and march along with exaggerated motions. "_Something's_ working."

Afterwards, May-Who announced, "Fruitcake, tra-la-la!"

This time, Winnie snuck a piece for herself. Contrary to the rest of her classmates in school, she actually liked fruitcake. Unfortunately, when she took a bite of it, it was too sour for her liking, and she spat it back out. Glancing around to see if no one was looking, she tiptoed hurriedly to the garbage chute and tossed the piece in.

Then, it was the Fudge Judge. Again, Winnie snuck a piece, but the piece of fudge was not only so hard that she had to gnaw a piece off, but it had nuts in it. "Yeuch, I _hate_ nuts," she grumbled under her breath, throwing it away as well.

Soon, it was the Nog Off. This was the one Winnie dreaded the most. The participants always chugged the eggnog until they were close to bursting. And even though Grinch could eat almost anything, his stomach could only hold so much. Something had to give, and she was afraid of what it would be.

Regardless, she managed to grab a glass of the drink. She didn't know why, seeing as the other two treats weren't to her liking. Maybe third time was the charm; maybe she hoped to lighten the load, even a little bit, for her best friend.

Shrugging, she took a sip, only to purse her lips and scrunch her nose. Too spicy, and she could swear she tasted something else as well. "I can have that, if you want," Cindy Lou offered, seeing Winnie's disgusted face.

"No, I don't think this is the best for kids," she shook her head, handing the drink to the little girl's mother, who took it eagerly. When she turned back around, and followed Cindy Lou into the crowd, her eyes widened at what she saw: Grinch was laying on his back, and there was a tube running down his mouth from the large barrel of eggnog. She could see the light-yellow liquid pumping through the tube into his mouth, and his stomach was actually starting to balloon under his sweater.

Winnie covered Cindy Lou's eyes with one hand, and her own with the other. She groaned under her breath when she heard Grinch retch. But when she peeked through her fingers, he kept going. And he was announced as the winner, beating out the previous one. She moved her hands from her and Cindy Lou's faces, and saw Grinch sit back up in his chair, now looking very sick. "He doesn't look so good," the little Who remarked quietly, holding the older Who's hand.

"No, he doesn't," she shook her head, nibbling her bottom lip worriedly. "Something's gonna give."

And she was right. Grinch leapt out of the chair and ran through the crowd. Winnie recognized the route he was taking, and sighed, "I told you."

After a few minutes, he came staggering back, looking a little shaky on his feet, but less full. "Feeling better?" she asked with a small, apprehensive smile.

"Actually, all things considering... I am!" he exclaimed, grinning widely.

* * *

Later, it was announced that the sack race would begin. Of course, Grinch had to participate, since he was the Cheer-Meister. What Winnie found most amusing was that he was competing with a bunch of kids, including Cindy Lou.

"Is that Winnie?!"

"It is!"

"It's her!"

She turned around, eyes lighting up when she saw three familiar Whos. "Rudy! Helga, Jamie!" she exclaimed happily.

Rudy was wearing a green and red dress with transparent ruffles on the sleeves, and a transparent cape attached under the bodice and trailed down to the floor. Helga was dressed in a green long-sleeved dress with a billowing skirt, and a dark-green sash tied around her waist in a bow. Jamie had a similar dress to Rudy, except hers was red, and instead of a long skirt and cape, she had a shorter dark-green ruffled skirt, and wore light-green stockings, and red heels.

"I haven't seen you guys in so long!" Winnie smiled, walking to her friends.

"Yeah, we haven't," Jamie frowned, crossing her arms.

Winnie paused, her smile faltering. "Erm, well, I'm sorry I had to leave on such short notice. Aaron had—"

"We know why you left, Winnie," Helga said, furrowing her eyebrows. "We got your letters."

"What we don't know is why you didn't try to contact us," Rudy added, adjusting her glasses.

"... Well, I-I didn't have the material for letters, and I don't know if—"

"Save your excuses," Helga snapped. "We just spoke with your grandfather, and he said you had a phone. So, why didn't you use _that_?"

"Maybe she thinks her first best friend's more important," Jamie scoffed.

"What?! No!" Winnie exclaimed, now feeling very small. "You guys are important too—"

"Then why didn't you try to at least call us?" Rudy asked. Unlike the others, she didn't look angry; just confused and sad.

"I-I didn't know how you would handle it," Winnie confessed, playing with one of her ringlets of hair. "And I didn't know if you'd talk to me even."

"So you didn't even bother to try?" Helga frowned. "You were able to contact us, and you never tried?! Some friend _you_ are."

"All right, I screwed up! I admit it, I was in the wrong! I'm a horrible friend, I'm sorry!"

"You got one thing right, you _are_ a horrible friend," Jamie mumbled under her breath.

Winnie could feel her heart breaking, and tears begin to sting her eyes. "Guys, I really _am_ sorry," she whispered. "What would it take to show you? You're my best friends."

"Well, apparently, your _real_ best friend's more important," Helga remarked, nodding towards the sack race, where Grinch had just won. As the crowd cheered for him, she said, "C'mon, let's go."

Her sister and Rudy followed after her. "Guys, wait!" Winnie exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas, Whit," Jamie snorted over her shoulder. "I guess you'd gotten what you wanted."

"She hates Christmas, remember?" Helga said. Rudy simply glanced back at Winnie sadly.

Winnie felt her legs shaking under her as she tried not to collapse. She stepped back and sat heavily on the stairs of a fountain, and covered her face with her hands. "What have I done?" she sniffed.

"Winnie, dear? Is everything okay?"

She looked up, only to see Luka wheeling up to her, looking concerned. "... No, not really," she shook her head. "I've just lost my friends, and by my own hand."

Sighing softly, he nodded, "Yeah, I saw, and kinda heard. Just thought I'd come over to see if you were all right."

"They're right, I _am_ a horrible friend."

"I wouldn't say so—"

"I _am_! They were right, I never even tried to contact them! And all because I was afraid about what they would say or think." She wiped her tears away and asked, "How were _you_ not disappointed in me?"

"I'll admit, I was," he sighed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But as my father used to say, what's past is past; what counts is making up for it now and for the future. You can't change what happened yesterday, but you can make tomorrow better today."

"How? They hate me."

"Make more of an effort to show you're truly sorry. Now that everyone knows where you and Grinch live, you'll make more of an effort to come down, right?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, promising herself to not use her cloak after tonight. He was right, since the 'ville knew that she and Grinch were up in Mt. Crumpit, there was no need to hide herself.

"I'm not saying they'll forgive you right away, or even later. Just show you're sorry, and willing to change and grow, and they might come around."

Sniffling, Winnie stood up and hugged Lukas. "Thank you, Grandpa," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled, patting her back.

* * *

**A/N How're you doin', guys? :D**

**I found it pretty funny how Whoville thought of Grinch as a monster... then again, considering what he had done the last time they saw him, and how he looks (that outfit IS pretty ridiculous, after all) I guess they kinda have a right to. Funny how after being shoved into a classic ugly Christmas sweater, they liked him.**

**I decided to have Winnie interacting with other Whos, including Grinch's mothers. I also thought it'd be funny if she tried some of the stuff he was (the fruitcake, fudge, and 'nog) and it they weren't to her liking. Plus, we got to learn a bit about her tastes as well. BTW, why is it popular to not like fruitcake? I've never had it, so I'm confused.**

**The Nog Off was from a deleted scene (I had to find deleted scenes on YouTube, and in some of them, I can barely hear what's being said; so I either have to come up with something, or just not describe the dialogue) And I figured after having so much rich food, he wouldn't feel very good (thank you, ****TheBeldam27 for the suggestion)**

**Originally, Winnie would have a nice reunion with her friends. But in writing this chapter, and after receiving a certain review (or two XD) I realized Winnie's friends wouldn't welcome her with open arms; they would be confused and angry at her, and rightfully so. I'll admit, I kinda forgot about Winnie's friends, and never considered her trying to contact them. There are many a times when I'm writing, I forget certain things. That's actually why I should consider writing notes when coming up with story plots, even ones that follow the movie XD**

**But anyway, Winnie WILL try to repair her friendship with the girls (she's gonna be occupied within the next several hours ;)) That doesn't mean everything will be hunky dory though. She might lose one or two friends, you never know. She really DID mess up badly.**

**I was going to add another scene, but decided it was getting too long, and I could add it in the next chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**Sun Goddess Amaterasu: That's actually kinda funny XD**

**Unfortunately, it's not going to be any of those kinds of stories, since she hates May-Who, and doesn't like Whobris or Martha.**

**I see what you're saying, and will try to show how close of friends they were. Part of the reason that they were upset was that they heard that Grinch had a phone, so she could have called them at any time during the past five years, yet she didn't.**

**It's not Winnie losing her friends that's a flaw; it's the fact that she assumed and was afraid that they'd be upset about her leaving, and wouldn't wish to be her friends anymore. So, instead of trying and seeing what would happen, she just decided to not try at all.**

**Guest: Thanks :D I'm glad you like this.  
**

**feefee242: Thank you :D I'm happy that you're liking this.**

* * *

With her grandfather and Grinch's mothers' encouragement, Winnie finally decided to participate in an event that she used to somewhat enjoy: the Christmas Slow Dance.

It wasn't as if she hated dancing. She never truly learned to slow dance, since she would only do it once a year, and as such sometimes stepped on the toes of her dance partner, and just felt awkward doing the whole thing.

But, in the spirit of things, she decided to give it one more go. The only issue was finding a partner.

When the dance was announced, Grinch made a beeline for Martha. Winnie snickered at May-Who's disgruntled expression. If he had been planning to make Grinch's Whobilation experience a bad one, he had failed; her best friend had actually started having a good time, albeit slowly at first.

As Winnie walked around the perimeter of the dance floor, looking for someone seeking a partner, someone took her hand and pulled her into the mass of dancing Whos. She jumped at the contact, but didn't try to fight it. The Who was wearing loud and fancy Christmas clothes, and had an opera-style mask on his face. "What, are you some secret agent?" Winnie chuckled.

"Perhaps," he quipped, spinning her around, and grunting when she stepped on his foot.

"Sorry, I have two left feet," she shrugged.

"Reminds me of a girl I once knew. Come to think of it, she kinda looked like you."

Narrowing her eyes, Winnie took a closer look at her dance partner. Behind the mask, he had handsome blue eyes, shaggy brown hair, and a small beard that connected with his sideburns. "You look... awfully familiar."

"I have that effect on people," he grinned.

Something clicked in Winnie's mind, and she realized who this was. "Erm, I, uh, I have to go." She tried to pull her hand out of his.

But he held her hand tighter. "What's the rush? The night's still young, and there's Christmas in the air!"

"Let me go, now!" she glowered.

Before she or he could say anything else, Grinch popped up next to them. "Hey, buddy," he grinned cheekily, "mind if I butt in?"

"Yes," he frowned.

"No!" Winnie exclaimed, yanking her hand away and taking Grinch's. "Take me away, Cheer-Meister!" she giggled as he pulled her away. Her former dance partner simply stood still, looking put out and irritated.

"Thanks," she whispered, laying her free hand on his shoulder.

"Who was that?" he asked, wrapping his other arm around her waist.

"Someone I'm sure I don't want to be with," she answered, glaring over her shoulder. "Um, I'm sorry you had to leave Martha."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll survive," he grinned, shrugging. "And you could've probably handled yourself, but I just wanted to make sure you were fine."

Winnie smiled softly. "Thank you."

"Just lookin' out for my best friend," he said, raising her arm and spinning her several times.

When she stood still, she felt like the world was spinning, and she felt light on her feet. "Try to warn me next time?" she asked, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

"I'll try to remember that."

* * *

Eventually, it was time for the main event: the Crowning of the Cheer-Meister. He bounced up onto the stage, as happy as could be—Winnie wondered offhandedly if part of his bounciness was from the sugary sweets and eggnog he had earlier. Regardless, she applauded as the crown, which was basically a wreath with a crown glued inside, was placed on his head. As he spread his arms in a flourish, she couldn't resist running up onto stage, wrapping her arms around him, and kissing him on the cheek.

She could feel Martha glaring a hole into her head, but before she could step away with embarrassment, Grinch wrapped his arm around her shoulders, still looking pleased as Punch. "And now it's time for the moment we've all been waiting for," May-Who announced as Grinch wrapped his other arm around the mayor's shoulders as well.

"Yes!" he exclaimed gleefully. "My award!" He then whispered to May-Who, "Write the check."

"There's no check," he shook his head.

Winnie rolled her eyes with a chuckle. _He's not giving up, is he?_

"Are you sure? 'Cause I thought I heard someone mention a check." As he spoke, he grinned to his right at Martha, trailing a finger up and down her arm.

As May-Who loudly affirmed that there was no check, Winnie saw Martha smiling smugly at her. The redhead simply raised an eyebrow. "And now, it's time for the Present Pass-it-on! As always, we start with our Cheer-Meister."

_Damn, I wish I could have thought to bring my snake-in-a-peanut-butter-jar to give to Disgustus. Oh well, everything's going so splendidly, perhaps next year._

Everything suddenly grew eerily silent. Confused, Winnie looked at Grinch, who was standing stock-still, staring at something in his hand: a maroon-colored razor.

Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. _No... he didn't!_

"The gift of a Christmas shave," May-Who stated.

The crowd of Whos laughed, save for Cindy Lou. Grinch clenched the razor tightly, inadvertently turning it on.

_Look at that hack job!_

_Stop laughing at him!_

_Ah-ha-ha-ha!_

Winnie covered her eyes with her hands, feeling her heart clench at the painful memories the razor brought back. It wasn't just that her friend had been horribly bullied that day; it was also the fact that until twenty years later, that had been the last time she saw him. When she looked through parted fingers, she saw that Grinch himself had a nasty glare on his face, and was panting through clenched teeth. And she was sure the memories were flashing before his eyes as well.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes," May-Who chuckled, as though they were all old friends. "Good times, eh? Good times."

_Probably for you, you heartless beast!_ Winnie so desperately wanted to slap him across his smug face, but managed to keep her temper in check. She didn't want to make things any worse than they were now, if that were possible.

But it was indeed possible. "And now, I have a little something for the love of my life."

_Uh oh, that doesn't sound good._

A drum-roll sounded, and when Winnie took her hands off of her face, she saw May-Who bent on one knee before Martha. In his hands was a small box with a sprig of mistletoe on top. "Martha May, please become Mrs. Augstus May-Who." When he opened the box, inside was a ring with three diamonds layered on top, similar to a pyramid.

Grinch gasped in shock and dropped the razor, and the crowd awwed at the proposal. Martha gazed down at the ring, also gasping. Winnie curled her lip at the thing. _What a gaudy ring. Not to mention probably heavy._

"Augustus," Martha whispered, looking between him and the ring, and even glancing at Grinch.

Winnie saw that her best friend had wide eyes and a slack jaw, and looked heartbroken, as well as increasingly angry. "If you agree to be my wife," May-Who continued, "along with a lifetime supply of happiness, you'll also receive this:" To her surprise, music that didn't sound very Christmasy began playing. "It's a new car!"

Everyone gasped as a spotlight shined on a small red convertible car, complete with three large white Christmas bows. "Generously provided by the taxpayers of Whoville!"

_Well, now I'm really glad I live up in Mt. Crumpit._

"Whattaya say, Martha?" May-Who grinned as countdown music began playing. "You got twenty seconds on the clock."

Winnie slapped a hand over her forehead. _Are you kidding me? Are you actually kidding me?! What does he think this is, a game-show?! He's not just proposing to her, he's __bribing__ her! And probably to humiliate poor Grinch further!_ Even if she didn't care for Martha, she still felt sorry for her being put in the spotlight like this.

"Well... I... th-these gifts are quite dazzling," she stammered.

Suddenly, everyone jumped and covered their ears at a loud scraping sound. Grinch was trailing a single claw along the side of the car, leaving a long scratch. Finally, he let his hand drop and glared at the stage. "Of _course_ they are," he snarled softly. "That's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always been _about!_" he chuckled, exclaiming angrily at the last word. "Gifts! Gifts... gifts-gifts-gifts-gifts-gifts-gifts-gifts!" he shouted, pointing in emphasis at the crowd, which leaned back and gasped in horror. "You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me," he laid a hand on his chest, "in your garbage. Y'see what I'm saying? In. Your. _Garbage! _I could _hang_ myself with all the bad Christmas ties Winnie and I have found at the dump!_"_

"Not to mention all of the furniture," Winnie remarked, crossing her arms with a scowl. "I've almost a whole _bedroom_ decorated with furniture we found in the trash!"

"And the avarice," Grinch added. "The avarice _never_ ends! 'I want golf clubs!' 'I want diamonds!' 'I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored, and sell it to make glue!'" he mocked.

The crowd gasped again. Winnie wondered if it was because of his display, or because they realized he was right. _Probably the former._

"Look, I don't wanna make waves," he shrugged, "but this whole Christmas season is stupid! Stupid! _Stupid!_... There _is_, however," he purred, slowly approaching the stage, where Martha, May-Who, and Winnie still stood, "one... teeny-tiny Christmas tradition I find... quite meaningful..." He reached out an plucked the mistletoe off of the ring box Martha was holding. He held it above his head and smiled, "Mistletoe... now pucker up and kiss it, Whoville!" He turned, bent over, and wiggled the mistletoe above his backside.

Martha laid the back of her hand against her forehead and fell back in a faint. Winnie clasped her hands over her mouth and laughed, not even bothering to try and muffle it. Grinch grabbed up the razor, gripped May-Who's shoulder, and shaved a long, thick line down the middle of his head. The crowd screamed, and May-Who stood still, mouth wide open, in shock. "Uh oh, somebody's fabulous!" Grinch exclaimed with glee before noising kissing him on the cheek. As the crowd began to run, he took off his crown, tossed it once in the air, and threw it away like a Frisbee. Then, he tore off his sweater, and leapt off of the stage.

"Hey, Disgustus!"

When he turned to the voice, Winnie reared back, and slapped May-Who across the face as hard as she could; so hard, it nearly knocked him to the ground, and her hand went numb for a few seconds before tingling. "_Always_ wanted to do that!" she grinned.

Suddenly, the tree in the center square seemed to burst into flames. "Burn, baby!" Grinch exclaimed gleefully. "Burn!"

Soon, the tree was nothing but a pile of ashes and burned ornaments. Grinch jumped and clapped in place, giggling. "Oh, the Whomanity!" he yelled before running off.

"Grinch, wait for me!" Winnie exclaimed, jumping off of the stage and stumbling on her feet.

"After her!" May-Who yelled, pointing at her.

Her eyes widened when she saw a couple of police-Whos begin to run at her. "Uh oh. Hold that thought!" she yelled after Grinch before running in the opposite direction.

Luckily for her, the police-Whos thought it would be easier to chase her in their squad car. While they were indeed faster, they couldn't get into tight spaces, such as alleyways.

And she used that to her advantage. She ducked into one alley, scurried up the fire escape, and pressed herself flat against the building. She could hear the squad car speed past. And when she carefully glanced out, she saw they were gone.

"Whew," she sighed with a smile, jumping over the edge of the fire escape. Unfortunately, she didn't quite stick the landing, and fell painfully onto her knees, messing her skirt. "Shouldn't have done that," she grunted, standing and brushing the snow and dirt off of her dress as best she could. Then, she ran out and down the streets, calling out for Grinch.

Whos were running everywhere, screaming as though there was a natural disaster going on. _With how they worship Christmas, that's probably what they think._ "Grinch, where are you?!" she yelled, pausing to look around.

She blinked in surprise when she heard panicked yells that didn't sound like the Whos. Looking to the side, she saw Grinch perched on a small car, spinning wildly in her direction. Exclaiming in surprise, she jumped backwards in time to avoid him. She pushed down her skirt, which had billowed up when he spun past, and her eyes widened when she saw what he was headed for. Not having time to yell out, she simply covered her ears and scrunched her eyes shut.

There was a loud crash, and the yelling stopped. A small hubcap spun up to her and fell flat at her feet. She gasped when she saw the car had crashed into a fire hydrant, and laid completely crunched under Grinch, who was sprawled out, seemingly unconscious.

"Grinch!" she cried, running to him. She crouched down next to him and gently lifted his head. "Grinch, are you all right?!"

He looked up at her, dazed, and then to the car, which began to emit spark-sounding noises. He suddenly sat up and exclaimed, "It's gonna blow!" He rolled to his feet, grabbed Winnie's hand, and they began to run from the car. It exploded behind them, causing them to fall forward.

Groaning, Winnie pushed herself up with her hands and looked over her shoulder. "That was big for such a small car," she remarked.

"Well, ya know what they say, big surprises come in small packages," Grinch shrugged.

"Apparently." She pushed herself to her feet and brushed off her front as he bounced up as well.

"I quite enjoyed that," he remarked as they made their way towards the garbage chute. "I hope I get another invite soon!"

"Maybe if they somehow forget about what happened tonight," she shrugged.

"Winnie!"

She froze in place, fists and teeth clenching. "As if this night couldn't get any worse," she growled.

Before Grinch could ask what was wrong, the Who she had been dancing with earlier came running up. Only he wasn't wearing his mask. "Winnie, are you okay?"

"I was, before _you_ showed up, Benson-Who!" she snapped.

Aaron jumped back with a confused expression. "Look, this has already been a bad night, so just leave me alone!" she scowled.

"But I—"

"But nothing!" she stomped her foot in emphasis. "You've done nothing worthy of my attention, so good-bye! And I hope you _don't_ have a merry Christmas!" She turned to stomp away.

"You take that back!" he yelled, reaching out, grabbed the back of her hair, which had started to fall out of its style, and yanked back.

Winnie screamed, and Grinch's eyes widened in shock. He glanced at Aaron, who was holding her hair still in his hand, and at his best friend, who was covering her head with her hands, looking very embarrassed and shocked.

She was covering her bald head, which had a slightly-pulled off wig cap on it.

Grinch continued to glance back and forth, finally putting the pieces together. Winnie's red hair had just been a wig, and she had been as bald as a ball. "... Winnie?"

With a sob, she took off for the garbage chute. "Winnie, wait!" Grinch grabbed her wig from Aaron and began running after her, catching up. "Winnie!"

Not glancing at him, she pushed him away from her and continued to run out of town. As he sat up, he heard the garbage chute rumble, signifying that she had gone up the mountain. He heard cheering coming from town, and, to his shock, saw another tree being put up. _Suffering snorkelblatz! They're relentless!_

"What a stubborn woman," Aaron shook his head as Grinch stood to his feet. "Goes to show how headstrong they can be, pardon the pun, huh?"

Glowering, Grinch punched him across the face and snarled, "Stay away from her from now on!" before taking off for the chute as well.

Aaron rubbed his cheek in pain, and his eyes widened. _That voice!_ "Hey, wait a minute!"

But he was gone.

* * *

**A/N How're you guys doin'? :D**

**I decided to write several chapters in advance, and will post them every few days until they're all posted (doesn't mean this story's done yet ;)) I was also in a bit of a writer's slump, but I managed to write out five more chapters (though the fifth one's not finished yet XD)**

**I'm betting you guys can guess who Winnie was dancing with at first. I imagine Grinch's dancing is less suave dancer, and more Jim Carrey's Mask dancer, being more bouncy, jerky, and quick with his movements.**

**I was going to have Winnie indeed present-pass Disgustus one of those peanut butter jars with the spring-loaded snake, but I couldn't figure out how I could fit that scene in, and decided to have her lament that she didn't bring it.**

**I thought it was nasty that not only did Disgustus humiliate Grinch with bad memories, but he's also basically bribing Martha into marrying him (seriously, the whole thing was like a damn game show, music and everything) And I think I said before, but even though I've heard people complain about how the Whos are made to be bad people, unlike in the book/cartoon, keep in mind that coming from said book/cartoon (unless you count Horton Hears a Who as part of the Grinch universe) we know nothing about the Whos except that they love Christmas, making noise, and singing. Plus, the movie kinda sends the message that Christmas shouldn't be such a commercial holiday, where the only things that matter are gifts and Christmas decorations; forgive me for being cheesy, but it should be about family and friends spending time together. The Whos either lost sight of it, or never saw it in the first place. ****That being said, Grinch is definitely an example of the "Jerkass has a point" trope when he was ranting to the Whos about how greedy they are. Too bad it didn't sink in at that point though.**

**I was originally going to have Winnie simply try to find Grinch among the hubbub, but it would be more interesting if she managed to slap Disgustus, not only for what he did that night, but for what he's done in the past. Unfortunately, it might have consequences later ;)**

**When Grinch spun past Winnie, and she had to push her skirt down, I tried to make it reference the famous Marilyn Monroe scene from Seven Year Itch (I actually had to look up where that's from; I've never seen any of her work, far as I know)**

**In the pics I have of Winnie on my DA account, I mentioned she has** **alopecia universalis. What that is is a condition where someone loses their hair. According to my research, there are several different kinds of alopecia, ranging from getting bald patches to losing all of your hair, eyelashes and eyebrows included, which is what Winnie has. I'm not 100% sure where I first heard of it, but I thought it would be an interesting parallel to Grinch being covered in fur and hair. There were slight "references" to it throughout the story: Winnie having thin eyebrows (drawn on), dry hair (I doubt that wigs have the exast same "feel" as real hair), and pitted nails (one symptom of ****alopecia universalis is having pitted nails; which makes sense, seeing as nails and hair are made of the same material) ****I researched it as much as I could so I could portray it "correctly", but if anyone has some tips on it, I'd greatly appreciate it.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N I own only my OC and any other unrecognizable characters; the rest is owned by Dr. Seuss and Universal Studios.**

**grapejuice101: She and Grinch have both had bad nights.**

**Guest: Thank you very much :D Yeah, he probably would have XD And would blame Winnie or Grinch right from the get-go.**

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As soon as he fell out of the chute, Grinch began looking around for his best friend. "Winnie?" he called out, picking up her wig from where he dropped it. "Winnie! I know you're up here!"

As he walked around the mountain, over the blowing wind, he heard sniffling. He stayed quiet, and continued up and around. Soon, at the door, he found her hunched back against the wall. Her arms were wrapped around her bent knees, her face was down against her legs, and the scarf she had been wearing was wrapped around her head.

"... Winnie, are you all right?" he asked softly, slowly approaching her as if she were a wild animal.

She slowly lifted her head to face him. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and her cheeks and head were red from the cold.

She held the scarf tighter around her head and whispered, "Can I have my... my hair back, please?"

He wordlessly held out the wig. She took it and smoothed out the hair, sighing as she pulled the pins out.

"... How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you been hairless?"

"... It started a few weeks after I first left Whoville. I was brushing my hair, and a lock had been pulled out. It wasn't a few strands of hair, like usual; it was as if someone had cut my hair in secret, and the hairbrush discovered it. And I hadn't felt it. The doctor diagnosed it as _Universal Hair Loss_, saying that I would eventually lose all of my hair, not just from my head... In retrospect, it took a long time to fall out. I think the last time I saw hair on me was a couple of years after you disappeared."

"How'd that happen?"

"No one knows," she shrugged, squeezing the wig in her hands. "All _I_ know is it started slowly, and ended slowly. I wore hats at first, but when it became obvious that I was losing my hair, I started wearing wigs. My eyelashes and eyebrows are fake."

Grinch could indeed see her eyebrows had been smudged—probably from her hands being on her face, and the heavy snow up on the mountain. "Why'd you hide it?"

Winnie looked up at Grinch as though he was crazy. "Why did I hide it? Because it's not normal for Whos to be bald when they're children, especially girls and women!"

"Did you tell anyone about it?"

"Well, yeah, my friends, eventually."

"Then why didn't you tell _me_?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I guess because I was so used to hiding it... and I was afraid..."

"Of what? That I'd think you were a freak?" He shook his head with a sigh. "Winnie, look at me! _I'm_ the freak here! I have the exact opposite problem as you: I'm _covered_ in hair. And you just assumed that I'd think you were weird?"

"Assumption... that's gotten me in quite a bit of trouble tonight, it seems."

"Whatta ya mean?"

"For the past five years, I had every opportunity to call my friends and grandfather and let them know I was all right. But I didn't because I was afraid—no, I _assumed_ they'd be disappointed, and they would want nothing to do with me... I'm lucky my grandfather understands to an extent, and still wants to talk." She stood up and said softly, "I'm sorry I never told you... But you've gotta understand that it wouldn't have been easy. No offense, but this is easier to hide, so it's harder to tell."

"Look Winnie, I don't care whether you have hair or not. You're still my best friend." He cupped her cheeks in his hands so she was looking him in the eye. "And you not having hair's definitely not gonna change that."

She smiled softly, nuzzling against his warm, furry hands. "Thank you... and I'm sorry about everything that happened tonight. If I had known what would have happened... I wouldn't have forced you to go."

"I should have realized something like that would happen!" he growled, stepping away from Winnie. "They love Christmas too much to not try to force it onto others!"

_Yes, the Grinch knew tomorrow, all the Who girls and boys,  
Would wake bright and early, and rush for their toys._

"And then, oh, the noise!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Oh, the noise, noise, noise, _noise!_"

Winnie flinched when he shouted the last word, causing it to echo. "They'll bang on tong-tinglers," he continued. "They'll blow their floo-flounders. They'll crash on jang-jinglers, and bounce on boing-bounders!"

_Then, Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast.  
And they'll feast, and they'll feast._

"And they'll feast! Feast! Feast! _Feast!_" he yelled, jumping and stomping his feet with each word. "They'll eat their Who _pudding!_" he snapped, kicking the snow. "And rare Who roast _beast!_" He laid his hand against the side of the mountain, leaned on his arm, and glared down at Whoville. "But there's something I just cannot _stand_ in the least... oh no!"

"What?! What's wrong?" Winnie asked, starting to feel a little worried for her best friend's sanity.

"I'm speaking in rhyme!" he whined before turning towards the 'ville, falling to his knees, and yelled, "Blast you Whos!" He fell onto his front as his words echoed again.

Winnie quirked an eyebrow as she pulled her wig back onto her head. She wanted ponder aloud if he wasn't being a little over-dramatic, but decided it might be wise to keep her mouth shut for the time being. After all, he had a rough night, and it wasn't even truly Christmas yet.

_And the more the Grinch thought of what Christmas would bring,  
The more the Grinch thought:_

"I must stop this whole thing!" he suddenly said, pushing himself to his knees.

"Stop it?!" Winnie exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes!" he declared, hopping to his feet and marching towards her. "Why, for year after year, I've put up with it now! I must stop this Christmas from coming! But how—I mean, in what way?"

Before Winnie could reply, he shook his head and opened the door to step inside. She hurried after him, and crashed into his back for the second time that day. Shaking her head, she realized there was music playing. She looked around Grinch, only to see Max dancing on his hind legs next to a small doghouse decorated with Christmas lights; the dog himself wore a party hat on his head.

"Awww, that's so cute," she cooed. When Grinch glared down at her, she shrugged, "What?"

Huffing, Grinch turned to Max, who had just now noticed them, and stood still on his hind legs. "Are you having a holly... jolly... Christmas?" he asked slowly. Then, before anyone else could move, he grabbed both the doghouse and Max and threw them out the door, shouting, "Wrong-o!"

"Grinch, was that really necessary?" Winnie deadpanned, jumping out after Max. She found the doghouse laying on its side, and a dog-shaped hole in the snow, and heard groaning from the hole.

Humphing, Grinch jumped down as well, and grabbed Max up by his scruff. The brown dog was covered in snow, though it was mostly on his face. "If you two aren't going to help me, then you might as well..."

Winnie cocked her head as he trailed off, and his glare melted away. "... Might as well what?"

But he didn't answer. He simply continued to stare at Max.

_Then, he got an idea. An awful idea.  
The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea._

His vacant expression turned into a grinning one. Though, not like the Grinch Grin. It was more like he suddenly had an epiphany. "I know just what to do," he said.

"...Do I want to know what?"

"Why, it's so simple, my dear!" he laughed in his throat, dropping Max and hurrying back up the mountain. She caught the dog before he fell into the snow again, and followed Grinch into the cave. "I'll make a Santy Claus hat and coat! I'll go down in history, as the Grinch that stole Christmas!" he declared, grabbing a large roll of red fleece.

Winnie set Max down on the floor, and watched as Grinch cut the fleece into two coat shapes, and dragged out an old sewing machine she had found the previous month. Her eyes widened as she fully comprehended what he would do. _I can't let him do this... wait, why should I care? Those Whos ruined Christmas for the both of us! And they get such a lavish holiday every year, one Christmas-less year shouldn't matter. I shouldn't be thinking of how I can stop him; rather, I should be thinking of how I can, instead, help him!_

She glanced down at her dress, and grinned as an idea came to her head.

She quickly grabbed a can of red paint and a paintbrush, and a spare pair of scissors, and ran into her room. She kicked off her boots and pulled off her white tights, laid the tights flat on the floor, and painted on candy cane stripes, from the top to the toes, and flipped them over to paint the other side. Just as she had finished, and pinned them sideways to a drying rack to dry, she heard Grinch laugh like Santa Claus and begin to sing. She chuckled to herself, and continued with her work.

She found the elf shoes she saw earlier, and laid them on her bed for later. Standing in front of her cracked mirror, she ran a finger up and down her skirt until she found a place she was satisfied with, and cut the skirt so it stopped just above her knees. Then, she wrapped her scarf around the top of her dress, and cut off the excess. She pulled off her dress, put on her robe, and gathered the dress, and cut skirt and scarf. When she stepped out of her room, Grinch wasn't near the sewing machine, but could hear something going on in the other part of the cave.

Shrugging it off, she sewed the scarf to the top of her dress so it fell over her chest and back in small ruffles, trimmed the cut skirt into the shape of an elf hat, and sewed that together. She snipped the rest of the scarf into a row of conjoined triangles, and sewed that around the hat. Giggling excitedly to herself, she ran back to her room, stood in front of her mirror, and placed the hat onto her head. She found a random jingle-bell—where she had gotten it, and how it ended up in her room, she couldn't remember—and glued it to the tip of of her hat. She put her dress back on, and strapped a black belt around her waist. She hummed, and tapped her cheek, deep in thought. Her tights were still drying, and she had the elf shoes waiting to be put on. But something was still missing.

But before she could say or do anything, a loud crash made her jump. She poked her head out of her room and yelled, "Everything okay?"

She heard Max bark a couple of times. "... All righty then!" she shrugged. Stepping back inside, she snapped her fingers in realization, ran back to the sewing machine, and carved the rest of the skirt into four glove shapes. She quickly sewed the gloves together, and slipped them on. "Yes!" she grinned to herself, and hurried back to her room; this time, the tights were ready to be put on.

She pulled her new candy cane-striped tights onto her legs, and slipped into her elf shoes. "Now just a few final touches," she smiled. Taking the elf hat off, she styled her hair so it was in a mid-height ponytail, pulled her bangs out to frame her face, applied green eye-shadow and red lipstick, redrew her eyebrows, and attached her jingle-bell earrings to her ears. She stepped back in front of the mirror, and placed the hat back on her head.

She giggled with delight. "It's magnificent and perfect! Absolutely _no one_ will suspect!" Squealing, she trotted out of her room, skidding to a stop when she saw what was in the cave.

It was a giant sleigh; or rather, it looked like a giant fusion of a sleigh and a car. It looked like it had been made with random junk, and had a giant red sack in the back. Sitting in the swing above the sleigh was Grinch himself. Because the swing was spinning, Winnie could only tell that he was wearing something red. More than likely, his new Santa Claus outfit.

She felt something paw at her leg. When she looked down, Max was standing at her feet, chuffing. "It looks great," she smiled. "What do you think of _my_ creation?" she asked, spinning once and making her shorter skirt billow out.

Max barked and wagged his tail. "Yeah, I think so too." She looked up at Grinch, whose swing was now spinning faster, and she could see he was holding a hand over his mouth. Pursing her lips in thought, she marched over, grabbed a hanging rope, and pulled hard in the opposite direction the swing was spinning.

The swing suddenly stopped short, and Grinch fell face-first onto the ground. "Are you all right?" Winnie asked, standing in front of him.

He lifted his head up slightly and shook it, trying to make the room stop spinning. He furrowed his eyebrows when he realized who was standing in front of him. "What are... you... wearing?" he asked, looking up higher.

Winnie was still in her green dress, except the skirt was much shorter, and it had red fabric around the bust, and a black belt around her waist. Her white tights now had red stripes, she had green gloves and elf shoes on her hands and feet, and a green and red elf hat on her head.

She helped him to his feet and explained, "Well, since you're masquerading as Santa, I felt it only fit that I dressed as one of his helpers. After all, every Santy Claus needs an elf helper," she laughed, spinning again. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?... I think it looks marvelous!" he exclaimed happily, holding out his arms. "You're a genius! And, um," he adjusted his hat, smiling smugly, "how does Santy Claus himself look?"

"Very Christmasy," she nodded. Aside from the green fur, yellow and blue eyes, and lack of pants and gloves, he looked just like St. Nick. "And the sleigh is awesome too. I can't believe you built it on such short notice!"

"Ah, I'm a Grinch of many talents," he purred, waving a hand.

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**A/N Hey, how're you guys doin'? :D**

**As seen before, Winnie has a habit of assuming things that will happen. This has gotten her previously into trouble; luckily for her, Grinch is a bit more forgiving.**

**I decided that instead of showing Grinch making his costume and the sleigh, I'd focus on Winnie's part: her making her elf costume. Like Grinch, it's made of whatever she can find. I found it kinda funny that even though the Grinchy Claus costume was put together in more than likely in a hurry, (since it was only four hours until Christmas) it looked professionally-made. I have two pics of Winnie, (one old, and another older) both her in her elf costume, on my DA account, so it's easy to see what she looks like.**


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